


Badge 1466: a "9-1-1" story

by Dr1veShaft815



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 911, Buck and Eddie, Buddie (Relationship), Eddie and Buck, Emergency - Freeform, Firefighter, Paramedic - Freeform, ambulance, buddie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23494762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr1veShaft815/pseuds/Dr1veShaft815
Summary: Time is of the essence as the members of the 118 fight to save lives, while Eddie struggles to get through the day. Each emergency is a race against the clock. Buck and Bobby each face internal challenges as they try to support those around them.
Relationships: Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 37





	1. Every Second Counts

**INT. LA COUNTY 911 COMMUNICATIONS CENTER (Maddie’s Desk) - DAY**

A cacophony of ringing phones, tapping at keyboards, frantic mouse clicking, and muffled conversations.

Sunshine peers through the dark blinds and tinted glass into the corporate, air-conditioned arena of the dispatcher floor.   
Camera pans to various clocks in the room - clock on the wall; a random male dispatcher’s watch; time stamps on the CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) software on the computer; finally ending on the lock screen of Maddie’s cell phone on her desk, showing the time, 8:02. 

Episode Narration begins with Maddie’s voiceover.

MADDIE (V.O.)  
In the emergency room, we learn very quickly that for some patients, Time makes all the difference between life or death. Treating some illnesses is a race against the clock. We hear so many key phrases about time that they become their own language: ‘time of onset’ ‘time last seen normal’ ‘the Golden Hour’ ‘time is muscle’ time is brain.’ These times are vital to the doctors when providing risky and life-saving treatments. If we lose track of time, a person’s life could change forever...

MADDIE  
911\. What is your emergency?

**Screen blacks. A Clock is heard ticking for several seconds during the blank screen. The sound cuts immediately to silence** 

**INT. ATHENA & BOBBY’S HOUSE - 4:30am**

The scene opens with the view of Bobby and Athena’s digital alarm clock face showing the time 4:29, which quickly changes over to 4:30, setting off an annoyingly high-pitched intermittent buzzing sound. Athena’s hand immediately whacks the snooze button and rolls over to a reluctant Bobby beside her.

Athena lets out a silent yawn as she readjusts her head on her pillow, slowly opening her eyes to make sure that Bobby is stirring. 

A smile crosses her face, taking pleasure in the simple notion of waking up next to a partner she can love fully and completely. She is sad to get ready to watch Bobby leave for work, but happy that she will see him later during his shift. 

ATHENA  
Baby.

Bobby takes a deep breath in and releases it slowly as he opens his eyes to see Athena smiling at him as she strokes the hair along his right temple. He smiles sweetly.

BOBBY  
Good morning.

ATHENA  
I’m not sure if I’ll get used to these 6:00am shifts. 

BOBBY  
Well think of it this way: I’ll just be getting home a lot sooner than I normally would. Maybe I can make actually make dinner tonight It’s been a while since I’ve cooked for us all. 

ATHENA  
Baby...

Bobby lets out a quiet laugh as he knows the tone of her voice is meant to brace him for potentially negative news.

BOBBY  
What? 

ATHENA  
Now you know I love your cooking. something about that Top Chef - onion dicing - buttery - garlicy show you put on in the kitchen just drives me wild...

BOBBY  
You think my food is garlicy? Like too garlicy?

ATHENA  
It’s not the garlic. I love the garlic. Always feel free to use as much garlic as you want in THIS house. 

BOBBY  
But...

ATHENA  
I am CRAVING Chinese Food. Not that you can’t make Chinese Food. I just need me some Hunan Palace dumplings and wonton soup. 

Bobby laughs as he rolls Athena away from him. Athena laughs in response and enjoys this playful moment with Bobby.

BOBBY  
OH I SEE... haha. You know, you’re the only woman I know who is thinks about Chinese food at 4 in the morning. 

ATHENA  
4:30 actually. You better get moving. 

Bobby yawns again and stretches as he climbs out of bed. 

BOBBY  
Fine. I’m moving. I’ll pick up the Chinese food on the way home if you agree to order it.

ATHENA  
Fair enough. What did you used to order when we were dating? You want that again?

BOBBY  
Dragon and Phoenix. That sounds awesome. I’m honestly a little relieved since I’m gonna be making the crew a big lunch today.

Bobby walks out of the room and into the bathroom. He then pokes his head out from the lit doorway, waiting for Athena to look at him. Their eyes meet.

BOBBY  
I love you, babe. Be safe today.

ATHENA  
Always. I love you. Now get out of here and let a woman get some rest before her shift.

**INT. EDDIE’S APARTMENT**

The scene opens with a view of the clock on Eddie’s nightstand. The time shown is 4:45am. The room is dark with light peering in from through the open doorway. A shadow passes by the nightlight and makes its way to the side of Eddie’s bed.

CHRISTOPHER  
Daddy.

EDDIE  
Mmmmmm.

Eddie inhales deeply and rolls over in his bed to face in the direction of Christopher’s voice. His eyes open gently. Whatever dream he was having had escaped his mind, and a small smile of relief runs across his face as if the sound of his son’s voice had rescued him from a nightmare. 

EDDIE  
What’s wrong, my little Superman. You okay?

CHRISTOPHER  
Daddy. I think you overslept.

Eddie’s upper body springs up as he looks toward the clock and sees that he is behind schedule. 

EDDIE  
Oh no, little man! This can’t be happening. No pushups today alright? We have to get you ready for school.

CHRISTOPHER  
Daddy!

Christopher giggles as he says, “Daddy!” and smiles.

EDDIE  
What? We gotta hurry! I’m sorry! 

Eddie reaches for and turns on the lamp on his night stand. Then he quickly realizes why Christopher was giggling; Christopher was already dressed.

EDDIE  
Why are you dressed already, Christopher?

CHRISTOPHER  
I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to get dressed and draw some pictures.

Eddie grabs Christopher and kisses him on the top of his head. 

EDDIE  
Alright, kid. You can show them to me on the way to work. Peppa is picking you up at the fire house and taking you to school. Dad’s gotta get ready and fast!

CHRISTOPHER  
Catch up with me, slow poke! 

Eddie frantically runs to the bathroom to turn on the shower. While he waits for the water to heat up, he runs throughout the apartment to prep his stuff for a quick exit. Christopher makes his way into the kitchen where he makes two bowls of rice cereal. 

**INT. FIRE HOUSE - STATION 118**

A tired Hen and Chimney are seen walking in through an open garage bay door while firefighter Levy is making hand motions to assist the fire truck that is backing into the bay. The sun can be seen rising faintly in the distance outside. The morning air is slightly chilly while the sky is colored with shades of pink, orange, and blue. As the truck comes to a stop, Buck hops out of the driver’s seat. Hen and Chimney approach him. Hen lays her head on Buck’s chest and lets out a playful whiney sound.

HEN  
Why do we have to get up so early now? I’m just gonna take a nap.

CHIMNEY  
How was night shift, Buck? Picking up a little overtime?

Buck throws his arm around Hen and embraces her tightly as she shuts her eyes for a few seconds and releases a sigh. The other fire personnel are scrambling in the background to get their gear off of the truck to prepare for shift change.

BUCK  
Gotta get my Jeep paid off soon, so I can upgrade!

CHIMNEY  
Upgrade? Are you kidding? You should be saving your money. There is nothing wrong with your Jeep. Keep it for a while and save the car payment when it’s paid off.

BUCK  
Before you say anything else, take a look at this! 

Buck removes his phone from his pocket with his other arm and holds it up behind Hen. He shows Chimney a picture of a black 2013 Dodge Challenger.

BUCK  
Two doors. Upgraded sport package. Upgraded sound system. And it’s been completely blacked out - no chrome at all. 

Chimney shakes his head. 

Bobby enters the garage bay and walks toward the group. Bobby notices Hen resting her head on Buck’s chest with her eyes closed. Jokingly, he mimics Hen by placing his head on Chimney’s chest.

CHIMNEY  
There, there. It’s gonna be a beautiful morning, Cap. You know what will make it even more beautiful?

BOBBY  
Hmmm?

CHIMNEY  
French toast. 

Hen immediately perks up and cocks her head to the side. 

HEN  
Cap? You makin’ French toast?! I’m up! I’m awake! 

Hen, with a new pep, walks away toward the locker room. 

CHIMNEY  
Where’s Eddie? He’s usually here before all of us.

The crew looks around the station as if Eddie could be hiding nearby. Bobby steps away from Chimney and attempts to peer up into the loft, swaying side to side to get a better view. Eddie is nowhere to be found.

BOBBY  
I didn’t see his truck outside. Maybe he’s running a little late today.

Bobby turns to Buck and gives him that friendly, welcoming grin of approval, showing him that he is thankful for Buck’s picking up an extra shift to help out.

BOBBY  
How are you this morning, Buck? Ready for another 12 hours?

BUCK  
Yes sir, Cap! Check out this sweet ride I’m gonna be getting with all of this overtime. 

Buck eagerly shows Bobby the same photo on his phone, hoping for more enthusiasm than the lecture he just got from Chimney.

BOBBY  
Really, kid? You should be saving your money. What’s wrong with the Jeep?

Buck shoots Chimney an evil glare. Chimney shakes his head and walks away. Buck says nothing and walks way, leaving Bobby standing alone - puzzled. He laughs and shakes his head.

BOBBY  
What?

** INT. FIRE HOUSE - LOCKER ROOM **

As Hen, Chimney, and Buck are finishing getting dressed to head upstairs for breakfast. A frantic Eddie dashes into the locker room.

BUCK  
We were starting to get worried about you, man. I don’t think you’ve ever shown up late.

EDDIE  
Man, if you knew the morning I’ve had. I’m losing my mind! I couldn’t sleep... I forgot to set my alarm. Christopher couldn’t sleep... I couldn’t find my keys. And no coffee yet. Maybe I should just go home and start fresh again tomorrow.

BUCK  
Relax, man. You’re here now. Plus after you get dressed there will be fresh coffee and...

HEN  
**sings** French toast baby!

Hen slams her locker and dances out of the locker room. 

BUCK  
Eddie, what do you think about this car?

Chimney slams his locker and follows behind Hen as he shakes his head at Buck.

EDDIE  
What’s wrong with the Jeep?

***The alarm sounds suddenly and lights flash to alert 118 of an incoming medical call. Eddie’s head sinks. Buck lets out a small laugh at Eddie’s expense.

BUCK  
Better get dressed fast, buddy! I’ll see you on the truck.

Buck slams his locker shut and runs toward the truck. Eddie begins to breathe heavily and begins throwing on his uniform as quickly as possible. He takes a look in the mirror on his locker door and notices that his hair is a mess, and he forgot to shave. Although he knows that he must hurry, to keep himself from panicking, he closes his eyes and takes two slow deep breaths. He gives himself a look of disapproval and shakes his head like a disappointed father would at his son who has just told a lie.

EDDIE  
This day sucks.

** INT. LA COUNTY 911 COMMUNICATIONS CENTER (MADDIE'S DESK) **

The same chaotic sounds of the cold and corporate 911 center ring through the room.

MADDIE  
Okay. Ma’am, first responders are on the way. You said that your father is unconscious on the floor. Does he appear to be breathing or moving? 

JEAN  
Yes! He is breathing. I think it’s his sugar. He’s diabetic. It hasn’t dropped in a while, but this is how it happened last time. He is laying on his back on the floor. His eyes are open and he’s drooling from his mouth. There’s a lot of saliva running down his face. 

MADDIE  
Okay, Jean. Did you witness him collapse?

JEAN  
Yes. I guided him down to the ground and laid him on his back.

MADDIE  
Okay, so he did not hit his head or injure himself? 

JEAN  
No. What should I do until they get here? Should I give him his insulin?

MADDIE  
No, Jean. That could make the problem worse. I want you to wipe the saliva off of his face. Then if you are able, I want you to move his left arm above his head. 

JEAN  
Okay. Done. Oh, please hang on, Dad! They’re coming!

MADDIE  
Okay. Now gently roll your father onto his left side so that his his head is slightly resting on his upper left arm with his face pointed down.

JEAN  
I know. I’m sorry dad! Okay. Done. 

MADDIE  
Okay Jean, the first responders should be there any second. Is the front door open?

JEAN  
Yes. 

MADDIE  
Okay. I’ll stay on the phone with you until they arrive. Keep trying to talk to your father. Try to keep him alert if you can.

Maddie hears a familiar voice in the background on the phone:

BOBBY  
LAFD! Ma’am were are you at?

JEAN  
Oh my God! They’re here. Thank you so much!

The phone clicks and hangs up before Maddie can respond. She pauses for a moment, almost forgetting how quickly a call can end. She smiled and nodded to herself, knowing that Jean and her father are in the best possible hands.

**INT. JEAN’S FATHER’S HOUSE**

The crew rushes inside the home behind Bobby. Jean greets the crew and directs them to a wide hallway area where her father is still lying on the floor unconscious. As Bobby gathers information, he directs Hen and Chimney to the patient and tells Buck and Eddie to grab the stretcher. Buck and Eddie hand off the equipment to Chimney and quickly exit the front door. Bobby places one hand on Jean’s shoulder to comfort her and begins to gather information. Hen begins to physically assess Jean’s father. 

HEN  
What is his name?

JEAN  
Stanley.

HEN  
Stanley! Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes for me?

Stanley lets out a muffled groan and no discernible words in response. He opens his eyes and looks at Hen.

HEN  
Hi there, Stanley. Does anything hurt right now?

Chimney places the blood pressure cuff on the patient and presses several buttons on the LifePak. Zippers and velcro can be heard as he removes a small glucometer pack from a pack and tosses it to Hen. Chimney then prepares to place electrodes on the patient to obtain an ECG. Stanley lets out another moan.

BOBBY  
Chim, what do we got? 

CHIMNEY  
210/110. ECG is showing a normal sinus rhythm. Oxygen is 99%. 

BOBBY  
Are we still thinking this is a diabetic problem?

Hen tosses the glucometer to Chim.

HEN  
Not anymore, Cap. Stanley! can you squeeze my fingers? Smile really big for me! Show me your teeth!

BOBBY  
Chim, what’s the sugar? 

CHIMNEY  
134.

Both of them exchange looks. 

Buck and Eddie enter with the stretcher at this time and begin to undo all of the straps as they lower it down to knee height. Buck slips past Jean in the tight area of the hallway and he gently touches her waist as he slides her slightly to his left in order to pass her. They make eye contact and exchange looks. Jean notices the baby blue hue of Buck’s eyes.

BUCK  
Sorry, ma’am. 

Jean smiles ever so subtly and seems distracted for that second and quickly recomposes herself for the emergency at hand.

Chim and Hen roll the patient back on to his back for a moment. While Hen examines Stanley’s face. Chim and Hen exchange a look as they noticed the hallmark facial drooping. 

HEN  
Ma’am. Can you take a look at his face and tell me if it looks normal? 

JEAN  
No. It looks like it’s sagging on the right side. Oh my God, is he having a stroke?!

HEN  
At this time ma’am, I have to assume that he is. What time was he last seen normal?

JEAN  
Oh my, God! Umm... umm... Oh no...

BOBBY  
Jean, listen to me. You called us right away right? Was he fine when he woke up this morning?

JEAN  
Yes! He was completely fine. We were talking about my upcoming vacation while we were walking down the hallway. In the middle of a sentence, his words became slurred. Then he turned to look at me and began to collapse. I guided him down to the ground, pulled out my cell phone, and called 911 that very minute!

BOBBY  
Okay. Thats what we needed. Jean, look at me.

Bobby places his hand on her shoulder again to redirect her attention. He gave her a reassuring smile. 

BOBBY  
We think that he is having a stroke, but I don’t want you to be scared. The scary ones are the ones that we don’t catch. You witnessed this one and called us right away. You have given him the best possible chance, and you did the right thing.

Bobby then turns away from her and begins walking toward the doorway. Tilts his head toward his radio and speaks in the direction of the microphone. A loud and piercing tone is heard as he presses the talk button.

BOBBY  
Dispatch. This is 118. What time did you receive this call?

Radio silence for several seconds. Everybody in the house is silent as the continue to work. Eddie and Buck lift the patient and place him on the stretcher while Hen and Chim gather the equipment. Bobby’s head is still tilted as if he was frozen in place after his transmission. 

DISPATCH  
Dispatch to 118 - the time of the call was 0604.

BOBBY  
Copy that. Hen, you copy?

HEN  
Yes, sir! 

Hen answered him as the crew was wheeling the stretcher and equipment out of the home to the ambulance. 

BOBBY  
Hen, you got everything you need? 

HEN  
I could use Chim in the back. It’s a short trip to the Comprehensive Stroke Center, and we have a lot to do. Time is brain, Cap.

BOBBY  
You’ve got it. Buck, you’re driving the ambulance.

Buck gives Bobby a thumbs up on the way out of the door.

BUCK  
I’m on it, Cap! Eddie, you got this stuff?

Once the stretcher is loaded in the ambulance, Buck tosses Eddie one of the rescue bags accidentally before giving Eddie a chance to respond. This throws Eddie off balance, causing him to drop the oxygen bag then both rescue bags. Eddie catches himself before he, himself, falls to the ground. Buck, seeing none of this, is halfway to the driver’s door. Eddie, stands outside the ambulance as it drives away, looking down at the gear - showing a look of defeat on his face. He looks up to see the ambulance drive away - its lights flashing as it speeds off toward the hospital. 

Bobby steps outside of the front door and sees Eddie staring off into the distance; he realizes that something is bothering Eddie. He looked at Eddie as if asking himself, ‘Only a person with a lot on his mind could stare that way.’ Bobby pulls his bottom lip in, showing in his face that he knew he needed to intervene. He walks towards Eddie and begins to pick up the gear at Eddie’s feet.

This immediately stirs Eddie. He begins to quickly grab for the items. 

EDDIE  
Cap! I’m sorry. You can put that down; I’ve got all this stuff! 

BOBBY  
I know you do.

Bobby smiles at Eddie. Their eyes meet. No more words were spoken at the scene. They silently place the equipment back on the rig. Eddie hops in the driver’s seat. Bobby hops in the passenger seat. The fire truck leaves for the hospital. 

** INT. INSIDE THE CAB OF THE FIRE TRUCK. **

Bobby and Eddie sit silently on the way to the hospital; however, both can feel the rising tension as if one of them needs to break the silence. It is Eddie who speaks first.

EDDIE  
I’m sorry I was late today, Cap. It won’t happen again. 

Bobby turns and looks at Eddie, but can tell it’s not the right time to speak yet. He is correct; Eddie continued.

EDDIE  
And I’m sorry about the equipment back there too. I’ve got to start hustling more.

Bobby turns away, looking out the passenger window. 

BOBBY  
I appreciate that you’re sorry. But there’s no need to apologize. You’re one of the hardest working and consistent guys in the department. Ya know, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you late for anything since I’ve known you. We’re all allowed to make mistakes. You may have been a few minutes late, but nobody suffered because of that.

Eddie is unsure how to respond. The feeling of guilt is still washing over him, and he feels undeserving of Bobby’s kind words of encouragement. Both sit in silence as Eddie looks over at Bobby, who is still staring out of the passenger window. 

Eddie’s eyes quickly shift back to the road in front of him. Bobby, again feeling tempted to speak, says nothing. He knows Eddie well He knows the inner conflict that Eddie is feeling between guilt and forgiveness.

Eddie’s conscience finally demands that he breaks the silence.

EDDIE  
Thanks, Cap. Thanks for always being so understanding. I’ve never quite had a boss like you before.

BOBBY  
I’m not your boss, Eddie. I’m your captain. We are a team.

EDDIE  
I guess I just mean that you’re so patient. That’s why I could never do your job. 

BOBBY  
Eddie, I see you with your son. You are the most patient and loving father, I know. I think you are just too hard on yourself. You don’t always see your strengths - but you see your weaknesses constantly. For example, I’m sure you noticed your hair this morning... 

Bobby smiles jokingly. This catches Eddie off-guard, which allows him to let out a laugh without being able to restrain it. 

EDDIE  
So you noticed that, huh?

BOBBY  
Late start this morning?

EDDIE  
Yeah. I forgot to set my alarm last night. Christopher actually woke me up. Thank God for that kid.

BOBBY  
How’s he doing? Is he still having nightmares.

EDDIE  
The nightmares have stopped. But he’s been really weird the past couple of days. Not hungry. Not sleeping, but says that he feels fine. It’s almost like he’s coming down with something. He’s not the kind of kid to complain.

BOBBY  
Well he’s got a lot of people looking out for him, so I’m sure he’s in good hands. Are you still seeing the therapist?

Eddie pauses for a moment, trying to think of a way out of the conversation. He realizes that there is no point in trying to hide anything from Bobby. He also realizes that oddly, he may be comfortable with Bobby knowing the truth. Then, at least, somebody would know.

EDDIE  
Yes. It’s been great actually. It feels more like chit-chat than therapy lately. Everything has been very casual. He’s been giving me some tips on how to help Christopher deal with Shannon and other things. 

Eddie was telling the truth, but only partially. He was leaving out some of the hard-hitting conversations with his therapist. 

Bobby can hear the whole truth missing from Eddie’s voice, but does not push the issue. He knows that it’s more important to just listen.

BOBBY  
I’m glad to hear that, Eddie. 

The fire truck pulls up near the hospital and parks as the ambulance backs up near the emergency department entrance. Eddie shifts the truck into park, as Bobby turns to Eddie.

BOBBY  
I’ll take care of cleaning up and getting everything in order. We’ve got some time while they take the patient directly to CT. Why don’t you go down to the cafeteria and grab some coffee and a quick bite?

EDDIE  
But what about French toast?

Bobby laughs.

BOBBY  
At least grab a cup of coffee. Take a few minutes to yourself. We’ll be here when you’re ready.

EDDIE  
Thanks, Cap. 

Both of them get out of the truck and head into the hospital behind Buck, Hen, Chimney, and their patient on the stretcher. Eddie looks down at his watch to measure how much time he has to grab a quick coffee. He realizes his watch is not on his arm.

EDDIE  
Geeze! Are you kidding me?!

BOBBY  
What?

EDDIE  
My watch! I must have left it in the locker room. 

BOBBY  
Man, you just can’t win today. I don’t think I’ve seen it on you at all today actually. You have your phone right? And your wallet?

Eddie frantically checks his pockets before stumbling on upon his phone in his right pants pocket. He locates his wallet in his rear right pocket and gives Bobby a thumbs-up.

EDDIE  
Yes. Thank God. 

BOBBY  
Good. I’ll text you when we’re ready to head out.

Eddie shakes his head in disbelief that his day has become so out of control. He wonders to himself how this day could get any worse. 

While he is walking through the corridors of the hallway, he is scrolling through his messages and emails as he shifts his vision from his phone and the walkways in front of him as to not bump into anything. 

** INT. ATHENA'S POLICE CAR **

Athena, appearing calm and cool as usual, is driving her police car through the city while on patrol. At the moment she is headed nowhere in particular. The sunlight keeps dancing as it is reflected off of her aviator style sunglasses. Her phone suddenly rings, and she pulls over to take the call; it was Michael.

MICHAEL  
Hey. I just called the dress shop and set up an appointment for May. It’s this coming Friday at 3pm.

ATHENA  
I thought we said Saturday. I’m working this Friday. 

MICHAEL  
I could have sworn we said Friday. Are you sure?

ATHENA  
Michael. I’m sure. 

MICHAEL  
I’m sorry. Things have just been... foggy for the past few days. I’m having to write things down a lot.

Athena, realizing her instinct to be harsh and direct, feels herself backing off of her disapproving tone. 

ATHENA  
Listen. Why don’t we do this? You take May to the appointment on Friday. She can pick out a few favorites, then on Saturday, I’ll bring her by the shop and she can make a final decision.

MICHAEL  
That sounds amazing! Todd is going to be excited. 

ATHENA  
Who’s Todd?

MICHAEL  
He owns the dress shop. He’s just a friend, Athena. 

ATHENA  
I didn’t say anything. I just wasn’t sure who “Todd” was.

MICHAEL  
He’s actually going to close up the shop around 2pm to give May the whole store for an hour.

ATHENA  
Sounds like a good friend. How did you swing that?

MICHAEL  
I think that he likes me honestly. He was also very excited to hear that it’s for May’s Senior Prom. He loves special events and award shows.

Their conversation is quickly interrupted by the radio and dispatcher.

DISPATCHER  
COMM to 1275, are you still in the area of the Hinkley Mall?

ATHENA  
Michael, I’ll talk to you later, K?

Michael hangs up the phone as Athena grabs the radio mic.

ATHENA  
Affirmative. I’m two blocks away.

DISPATCH  
Respond over to the north parking lot of the mall to assist 1642 with a traffic stop.

ATHENA  
10-4. En route. 

Athena flips on the lights and sirens and pulls a u-turn when the intersection has cleared. 

** INT. CAFETERIA OF HOSPITAL **

Eddie is sitting alone at a long table. He is staring up at the clock, watching the seconds tick away. His hands are gripping a small cup of coffee as he continues to rotate it around and around endlessly. His left leg is tucked under the seat; the ball of his foot resting on the ground while he anxiously taps his left heal on the ground - the same way one would continuously click a pen. He occasionally closes his eyes and sips the hot coffee from the cup. 

He doesn’t notice as Buck enters the cafeteria and spots Eddie at the table. Buck beings to approach but decides to hold back for a moment and watch. Buck leans up against a concrete pillar as he gazes across the room at his friend. He can tell something is wrong. Buck thinks to himself, ‘this is not Eddie.’ Although he hates seeing Eddie like this, he takes small comfort in it; Eddie is hardly ever shaken by anything. Buck thinks, ‘maybe he IS just like the rest of us after all.’  
Before Buck could smile at the site of an anxious Eddie, he stopped suddenly as he noticed something he had never seen. A small tear was glistening in the light as it ran down Eddie’s cheek. This brought Buck’s attention to Eddie’s eyes, which appeared to be welling up and watering. Buck immediately stepped out of the cafeteria so that Eddie would not see him watching. He knew that Eddie would be embarrassed if he knew Buck (or anyone else for that matter) had seen this. Buck, feeling conflicted, slowly began walking back toward the emergency department. He knew the last thing Eddie would want is for Buck to see him crying. This is hard for Buck, as all he wants to do is comfort his friend.

Eddie, completely unaware of the tear until it rolled down the bottom half of his cheek, quickly wipes it away and scans the room in case others were looking. He wiped his eyes and sniffed. He sighs in relief that nobody is watching him. He chugs the last bit of coffee and stands from the table. As he stands, he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. As if in one motion, he tosses his cup in the trash and pulls out his phone to see that it’s the principle from Christopher’s school calling. Without hesitating, he answers the phone.

EDDIE  
Principle Summers? Hi. Is everything okay?

PRINCIPLE SUMMERS  
Everything is fine. I don’t want you to worry, but Christopher isn’t feeling well today. He’s in the nurse’s office.

EDDIE  
What is wrong? Is he okay?

PRINCIPLE SUMMERS  
The nurse said that he is running a fever and came into her office complaining that he was aching all over.

EDDIE  
That’s strange. He seemed okay this morning. More than okay actually.

PRINCIPLE SUMMERS  
Well so far, he hasn’t had any other symptoms. He’s just resting for now. How would you like us to proceed from here? Would you like to come get him now, or see how he feels at the end of the day?

EDDIE  
I’ll have my aunt come and pick him up right away. I’m actually stuck at work right now. Does he have his phone with him?

PRINCIPLE SUMMERS  
Yes. Mrs. Crumb gave it back to him when he went to the nurse’s office. He has it with him.

EDDIE  
Okay, great. I’ll call him and let him know what is going on. Thank you so much, Principle Summers!

PRINCIPLE SUMMERS  
Not a problem. We’ll take good care of him until your aunt gets here.

Eddie looks down at his phone to FaceTime Christopher when suddenly all he sees is a black screen with a battery symbol in the center. He slams his palm against his forehead.

EDDIE  
Are you kidding me?!

Eddie yells to himself. And begins walking quickly toward the emergency department. As he rounds the corner he runs, trying to catch up to Buck who is standing at the end of the hallway. A loud and piercing tone wails from Eddie’s radio, and a familiar voice then speaks.

DISPATCHER  
COMM to 118, for your rescue crew and ambulance. Respond to the North parking lot of the Hinkley Mall for a Delta response. We have an officer down and two other gun shot victims - location of the injuries are unknown at this time.

Eddie’s adrenaline kicks in as he hears Bobby’s voice acknowledge the call on the radio. He tries to catch up to Buck who begins running down the hall in front of him. Eddie begins to think quickly, working through the anxious feelings of having to manage two crisis at once.

EDDIE  
Buck! Buck! Wait up!

Buck stops suddenly and allows Eddie time to catch up. As soon as Eddie reaches him, they begin to jog toward the exit of the emergency room together. Buck turns to Eddie as they are running.

BUCK  
Hey man. What’s going on? Everything okay?

EDDIE  
It’s Christopher. He’s sick.

BUCK  
Is everything okay? How sick? Is he still at school?

EDDIE  
Listen. There’s not a lot of time. My phone is dead. I’m driving the truck with Cap. I need you to let Hen or Chim drive the ambulance. Call Christopher and let him know that I’ll call him as soon as I get a chance. My aunt is on the way to pick him up from school. 

Both of them turn the corner and exit the automatic doors while running toward the trucks. Buck stops and grabs Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie stops suddenly and turns toward Buck, looking him directly in the eyes with worry. Buck smiles softly to convey to Eddie that everything is going to be okay.

BUCK  
I’ll call him Eddie. I promise. I’m going to do it right now on the way to the scene. 

EDDIE  
Thank you, brother. Please tell him that I love him. Please. He gets scared when he’s sick. 

BUCK  
I will. It’s gonna be fine, man.

Both of them climb into their vehicles; Eddie in the fire truck - Buck in the ambulance. The flashing lights from the trucks bounce off the brick walls in the area. As the vehicles pull out out, the sirens go on and are heard echoing off of the buildings around them. 

**INT. INSIDE THE AMBULANCE**

Buck slams the door shut as he climbs into the passenger seat of the ambulance and pulls his phone from his right side pants pocket. He takes a deep breath and begins tapping his way through the phone menus to FaceTime Christopher.

Chim continues to hit various switches, changing the cadence of the sirens as he makes his way through the traffic and intersections. 

Buck smiles as he sees a familiar face staring at him through the screen of his phone. Those glasses with the red strap that he will never forget as long as he draws breath. The usual excitement was missing from Christopher’s voice and face he answered the phone.

CHRISTOPHER  
Hi, Buck.

BUCK  
Hey buddy! How are you feeling?

CHRISTOPHER  
Ummm. Not so good. The nurse says I have a fever. Is dad there with you?

BUCK  
No. He’s actually in the other truck. We’re on our way to a call.

CHRISTOPHER  
Oh okay. 

BUCK  
Listen. Christopher... your dad’s phone died. He wanted me to call you and tell you that he loves you very much, and that Pepa is going to pick you up in a little bit. 

CHRISTOPHER  
Okay.

Buck can hear the sadness and malaise in Christopher’s voice. A feeling of a lump appears in the back of Buck’s throat; he hated hearing Christopher like this - and feeling so powerless to help him feel better. He struggled to come up with something to say, and then it hit him.

BUCK  
Whattya say I come over tomorrow and we’ll play some video games? I have the day off and nowhere to be? I can get pizza if you feel up for it...

CHRISTOPHER  
I don’t want to be sick for Dad’s birthday. It’s in a few days.

And there it was, Buck realized. Buck smiled and the lump in his throat went away immediately. He could not be surprised; this was just like Christopher - to be thinking of others even when he’s sick. ‘God I love this kid. Why can’t we all be more like him?’ Buck thought to himself.

Then it dawned on him. Buck hadn’t realized that it was Eddie’s birthday soon. He further realized that he never knew to begin with. His focus quickly returned to Christopher.

BUCK  
Awww. Well I’m sure you’re gonna be much better by then. This is probably a little bug or something.

CHRISTOPHER  
Every time I get sick, I end up in the hospital.

BUCK  
Buddy, I’m sure it’s not that serious okay? You look great. And after the tsunami, you’re basically a superhero now! 

Christopher becomes silent and looks away from the phone. A smart kid indeed - and can sense when adults are trying to simply make him feel better.

BUCK  
Why don’t we plan something for your dad? We can talk about it tomorrow when I come over.

CHRISTOPHER  
Okay, Buck. I made him a card already. It’s in my desk so he won’t find it.

BUCK  
Alright. We’ll I’m going to get off of here. I miss you, buddy. I wish I could be there to hang out with you. Pepa will be there soon okay? 

CHRISTOPHER  
Okay.

BUCK  
I’ll have your dad call you as soon as he can!

CHRISTOPHER  
Do you think he’s worried?

BUCK  
Your dad?! No way! He knows you’re a tough kid. He said he loves you very much, and that he’ll see you soon okay?

CHRISTOPHER  
Okay. Bye, Buck.

BUCK  
See ya later, kid.

The phone disconnects and Buck looks up as he puts his phone away in his pocket. He doesn’t realize the smile that is still across his face as he looks up at the road in front of him.

Chimney glances over at Buck. 

CHIMNEY  
Everything okay, dad?

BUCK  
Yeah. Christopher is sick at school, and Eddie’s phone is dead. He asked me to call and check in with him.

CHIMNEY  
That poor kid. He’s been through so much lately.

BUCK  
I know. But he’s the toughest kid I know. He’ll be fine.

Chimney continues to chew his gum as he checks for right-of-way in the intersection before he passes through it. He manages to shoot a glance over at Buck and gives him a quick smile. Buck notices.

BUCK  
What?

Buck lets out a small laugh as he asks.

CHIMNEY  
You really care about that kid, don’t you?

BUCK  
I guess it was the tsunami, you know? We kinda bonded after that. I mean, more than we had before. 

CHIMNEY  
That’s normal - when you experience trauma with another person. When you go through something that tough... you’re bonded for life.

BUCK  
Yeah. I guess you could say that. 

Hen sticks her head into the driver’s compartment from the back of the ambulance and interrupts the conversation.

HEN  
Guys. I was just listening to the police radio...

CHIMNEY  
Yeah?

HEN  
It’s Athena!

**INT. NORTH PARKING LOT OF THE MALL - THE SCENE OF THE SHOOTING**

Lights and sirens seem to flash and wail in slow motion as the fire truck and ambulance arrive at the scene. The chaos of vehicles, onlookers were almost hypnotizing. Sirens could be heard from down the street as multiple police cars were visibly racing through the area of the mall to get to the scene. 

Buck leaps from the ambulance just before Chim is able to put it in park. He sees Bobby and Eddie running toward Athena’s police car. Before they can round the corner of the car to find Athena, their pants get splashed with blood as their boots kick it up from the ground while they are running. 

As Hen gets out of the ambulance, she sees the large amount of blood on the ground. She tosses Chimney the other active shooter bag and carries one herself to the other side of the police car, where she can only assume Athena is on the ground where everybody is kneeling. As she rounds the police car, she is shocked to find Athena kneeling on a man’s crotch area. Bobby and Eddie are holding the man’s arms down as he is trying to fight to get Athena off of him.

Another man screaming for help is lying on the ground hear another vehicle nearby. 

BOBBY  
Hen! Get over here we need a tourniquet! Chim, we have another man down over by that car!

Hen rushes over and kneels down beside Athena and the patient. The patient is screaming for Athena to get off of him.

ATHENA  
He’s shot in the upper left thigh. I tried holding direct pressure with my hands, but I couldn’t control the bleeding! The only thing that would stop the bleeding is with my knee and the weight of my body. He’s lost a lot of blood! He took one point blank from a handgun. 

BOBBY  
Where is the shooter? Where is the other officer that was here?

ATHENA  
Dex. He took off after the shooter. There were two other officers with him. They ran East on Presidential Drive. I already told dispatch, but I couldn’t leave this guy to bleed out. There’s another guy over there, but he seems stable and only has a wound to his arm. He wasn’t bleeding bad! 

Hen quickly begins cutting the patient’s pant leg away, as he is screaming, asking her what she is doing. Bobby radios dispatch to ask about the location of the second ambulance.

HEN  
Sir, I’ve got to try and control this bleeding. We’re gonna put a tourniquet on you, but I need to take a look at the wound. 

As she cuts away the leg of the pants and removes it from the patient’s left hip area. She has found what she needs. 

HEN  
Okay. Plan B. We’re not going to use a tourniquet. 

BOBBY  
We’re not?

HEN  
We can’t the wound is too proximal. It’s actually his groin. The tourniquet can’t be placed that high and won’t do any good.

ATHENA  
What do we do?

EDDIE  
You’re gonna pack the wound right?

HEN  
That’s right. I’m gonna pack the wound. He’s lost a lot of blood, so I’ll be ready to transport as soon as I’m done. Somebody grab the stretcher.

BUCK  
Already on it!

Buck exclaims as he runs to the back door of the ambulance. 

BOBBY  
How’s he doing over there, Chim?

CHIMNEY  
Stable, Cap. Tourniquet is on. No other injuries. He has been controlling his own bleeding. I’m just gonna give him some fentanyl on the way to the hospital, and we’re good to go here. My other ambulance coming?

BOBBY  
Yeah. They’re one minute out.

HEN  
Sir, I’m very sorry. This is going to hurt, but we have to stop the bleeding. You’ve lost a lot of blood, and if I don’t do this, you could die. 

The man seemed to immediately establish a rapport with Hen after this statement. He stops fighting and takes a deep breath. He says “okay. I’m ready.”

HEN  
Athena, as I reach under your knee, you can slowly get up.

Hen holds the gauze in her hand with a small amount unraveled as she slides the hand under Athena’s knee. Wrapping the gauze around her forefinger, she quickly jams her finger into the wound as Athena raises her knee. Blood begins to poor out around her finger. The patient screams and begins to writhe.

EDDIE  
Sir! I know! I know it hurts. Just hang in there! We have to stop the bleeding! Stay tough for me for for just a minute. Look at me. Focus on me. 

Hen locates the source of the bleeding and plugs it with her finger. She then uses her other hand to feed the gauze into the wound. After packing the wound, Bobby assists her with a bandage to place over the packed wound. 

HEN  
Alright. I’m all done here. I’ll need another in the back with me, Cap to keep pressure on this wound. 

BOBBY  
Eddie.

EDDIE.  
You got it, Cap.

Buck arrives with the stretcher. The crew lifts the patient onto the stretcher. Eddie and Hen secure the patient in the ambulance as it takes off toward the hospital. Buck in the front, driving again. Eddie and Hen in the back with the patient.

Bobby grabs Athena by her hand and rubs it gently with his thumb.

BOBBY  
What the hell happened here? You okay? We thought you were shot!

ATHENA  
There were multiple bystanders, they probably thought I was shot when they called 911 because I was covered in blood.

BOBBY  
God. I’m so glad you’re okay.

Bobby pulls Athena close to him and kisses her on top of the head.

ATHENA  
Routine traffic stop turned into gunfire. We’re gonna be questioning these two heavily. 

BOBBY  
They were in the car with the shooter?

ATHENA  
Yep. They said he offered them fifty bucks for a ride. Dex pulled them over for expired registration. Then out of nowhere... gunshots. By the time I got here, he was gone. 

BOBBY  
You did amazing work here today. Kneeling on him with you knee to stop the bleeding. That was brilliant. 

Athena smiled. 

ATHENA  
Sometimes all of that active threat training pays off. 

BOBBY  
We still on for Chinese tonight?

ATHENA  
Dragon and Phoenix, baby.

Both give each other a laugh and a hug. Athena walks to her car as Bobby realizes that now his lower pant leg is covered in blood. He shrugs and shakes his head. 

**INT. FIRE HOUSE - STATION 118 - LOCKER ROOM**

The camera pans to Eddie frantically throwing things out of his locker and obsessively searching inside. Hen enters the room.

HEN  
Hey, are you coming? Cap is setting the table for lunch. 

EDDIE  
Yeah of course.. I just can’t find my watch. Have you seen it?

HEN  
I honestly can’t remember seeing you with it today. Maybe you left it at home? I’ll help you look after lunch.

Buck enters the room.

BUCK  
Yo, Cap’s wondering where you guys are. He just finished lunch. Everything okay?

HEN  
Eddie can’t find his watch. 

BUCK  
Your tactical watch? I’ve never seen you take it off. I bet you left it at home. I haven’t noticed it on you today.

Eddie glances at the ceiling in doubt. Hen and Buck look at each other, realizing that Eddie is oddly over-stressed about such a small thing.

BUCK  
It’s just a watch. We’ll find it. No need to stress, Eddie.

EDDIE  
...yeah. 

Eddie slams his locker shut, loud enough to make Hen and Buck jump and leaves the room pretending like he’s not worried.  
Buck looks at Hen and shrugs. She raises her eyebrows back at him and doesn’t say anything as they leave the room to go upstairs for lunch.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**INT. FIRE HOUSE - STATION 118**

Hours have passed and the end of the shift is approaching. Hen and Chim are chatting in the kitchen area. Buck is sitting in a chair near the television, scrolling through his best selfies on his phone. Eddie is dressed down and sitting on the couch in the loft area with his bag, tapping his foot and staring at the clock on the wall like he was in the hospital cafeteria. As soon as 9pm hits, Eddie launches from his seat and heads for the door. Buck follows him down the stairs.

BUCK  
Hey! Eddie! I’m gonna be here at the station for a while. Text me when you get home and let me know if you find your watch. If not, I’ll sweep the station again. Oh! and Tell Chris we’re all pulling for him!

EDDIE  
Yeah thanks. I will. See ya.

Buck shakes his head and lets out a small laugh at Eddie’s odd and frantic behavior. A few minutes pass when a stranger approaches through the garage and catches Buck’s attention.

JEAN  
Hi! I’m Jean. You were at my house this morning for my grandfather. He was having a stroke, and you guys took him to the hospital.

BUCK  
Oh yeah! How did he make out? I hope everything went well... you called pretty early, so I figured there was a strong chance of recovery.

JEAN  
They aren’t sure yet. We’ll know more in the morning. But I wanted to thank you in person. I told the guy with the messed up hair outside I was looking for Evan. He seemed like he was in a hurry, but he directed me inside.

BUCK  
Well I go by “Buck.” It comes from my last name, “Buckley.” It’s nice to meet you Jean. And thank you for stopping by. I’m glad to hear about your father. Sometimes every second counts.

JEAN  
Buck?... That’s cute! Well anyway, I also wanted to return this to you. I figured you were missing it.

Jean hands over Eddie’s watch to Buck and shakes his hand - gripping it for a moment and once again gazes into his baby blue eyes.

JEAN  
Goodnight, Buck. And just between us, I like Evan better!

Jean smiles in a flirtatious manner and walks out of the fire house.

A confused... but happy smile appears on Buck’s face as he watches her walk away. He figured that confusing him with Eddie would have been a normal response - a bunch of firefighters in her house - who wouldn’t get confused? He saw no reason to correct her, as he was just happy that Eddie’s watch was found. He couldn’t wait to let Eddie know the good news and offer him some relief after such a horrible day. 

As he walks back toward the locker room his thumb feels an uneven surface on the back of Eddie’s watch. He glances down at the watch and sees something scratched into the aluminum case on the back. He held it out and tilted the watch to illuminate the scratch marks. His eyes almost didn’t believe what he saw. “EVAN” had been carved into the metal. 

Buck pauses for a long moment and says his own name out loud in disbelief.

BUCK: “...Evan.”

Buck looks around and begins to panic as if he has done something wrong and somebody is watching him. Now he understands why Jean called him Evan. But what he didn’t understand was the carving he had found. It just didn’t seem to make any sense. 

When he realizes that he is alone. He takes a deep breath and has to sit down on a nearby bench. ‘Why?’ he thought. A part of him was confused, but another part of began to realize what it meant. His eyes become watered but he won’t let himself shed a tear. He can feel the smile stretching across his face and his heart racing. He had to sit down to catch his breath for a moment. All of the memories of his interactions with Eddie began to race across his field of vision like a movie. 

Buck removes his own watch and replaces it with Eddie’s for a moment. In this moment, he felt closer to Eddie than he ever felt to anybody. He begins to hear Eddie’s voice echoing in his mind...”Buck, there’s nobody I trust in this world I trust with my son more... than you.” 

Suddenly Eddie’s behavior was seeming to make sense to him - why Eddie wanted to find it so badly - before somebody else could see the etching. 

Buck struggles to try understand his emotions. Why is he happy? Why does he feel the urge to cry? He also struggles to understand what exactly he discovered and why. He tries to rationalize the situation in his head. ‘Maybe there is a good reason.’ Maybe he was going to give me the watch some day.’ ‘Maybe he had a friend named Evan that he bought it from.’ Even the most ridiculous explanations began to make more sense than the truth. A truth which Buck was beginning to realize, but still refused to believe. ‘No. it’s just not possible.’ ‘There has to be another reason.’ It would be normal for Eddie to have his own name, “Eddie” on the watch... or “E.D” for Eddie Diaz... or “789,” Eddie’s badge number. Any of those would make sense. Not “Evan.” 

Thoughts kept racing through his head. He was initially excited to let Eddie know that his watch has been found, but now, how could he? Perhaps this is a secret that Eddie needs kept. Perhaps keeping his secret and protecting him is more important than the watch. Buck realizes that he can’t just give Eddie back his watch or even let on that he has had it. 

Just in that instant, he feels a vibration in his pocket. He pulls out his phone and sees Eddie’s name on the screen. Buck’s heart begins to race again. He takes a deep breath, hoping that he could quickly come up with a lie about the watch. The phone continued to ring as Buck continued to hesitate. Thoughts continued to race through his head, ‘Would Eddie’s voice sound differently to him now?’’Would Eddie look differently to Buck now?’’Will everything change now? he wondered. He slides his thumb across the screen to answer the call and takes a deep breath. His voice is shaking as he answers the phone...

BUCK  
...Eddie. Hey, man.

EDDIE  
.........

Buck hears only silence on the other end. Silence... and Eddie’s breathing.

BUCK  
Let me guess, you found your watch in your truck?!

Buck smiles for a second at the brilliant lie he just orchestrated.

EDDIE  
..........

BUCK  
Eddie?

EDDIE  
It’s Christopher. He had a seizure. 

Buck freezes instantly and can’t breathe.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

END OF CHAPTER 1.


	2. Chapter 2: Active Threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie takes a personal day to deal with Christopher's medical emergency. Police and fire personnel respond to a mass casualty incident (MCI), where the 118 will face a challenge unlike anything they have ever faced.

**INT. EDDIE’S APARTMENT - EVENING**

*Scene Soundtrack: “Light Years” - William Fitzsimmons*

((Song plays now and continues to play as the scenes switch back and forth between Christopher’s hospital room and Eddie’s Apartment))

A scraping key can be heard as it is being inserted to the lock on the front door. Several clicks and metallic sounds are heard as the locking mechanism shifts open. The sound of keys jingling can be heard from outside the door, sounding like they had been tossed in a pocket. The door opens.

Buck steps into Eddie’s apartment and shuts the door behind him. He sets his a gym bag on the floor and takes a look around. Memories flash before his eyes - ghosts of Eddie. Ghosts of Christopher. Ghosts of himself. All moving through the apartment like a silent movie. He remembers the time he and Eddie helped Christopher with his volcano science project. And the time that he was ordering pizza on the phone as he watched Eddie and Christopher wrestling in the living room. ‘Everything is going to change now,’ he thought to himself.

**INT. HOSPITAL - CHRISTOPHER’S BEDSIDE**

Christopher lies motionless in the hospital bed, breathing slowly. He is seemingly sleeping as Eddie sits in the chair beside the left side of the bed. Eddie leans forward in the chair and grabs Christopher’s hand. He rubs the top of Christopher’s hand with his thumb and brings Christopher’s hand to his face.

**INT. EDDIE'S APARTMENT**

Buck picks up his bag and goes to Christopher’s room first, gathering a change of clothes, then some crayons, paper, and finally the birthday card that Christopher mentioned from the desk drawer. He pauses to admire it before placing it carefully between the pages of a book and placing the book in his bag. Before turning the light out in Christopher’s room, he looked at the cork board on the wall. He smiled when he saw a photograph of himself, Eddie, and Christopher at the surprise Christmas party just a few months prior.

**INT. HOSPITAL - CHRISTOPHER’S BEDSIDE**

Eddie lays Christopher’s hand on the bed. And stands to lean over and kiss him on the forehead. As he pulls away, he slowly removes Christopher’s glasses, one hand on the frames and the other on the bright red strap as he slides it off of Christopher’s head. Eddie places the glasses on the bedside table. He looks over as a nurse enters the room. The nurse gives Eddie a smile and walks toward the IV pump and fluid bag hanging near the bed. Eddie gives her a nod and sits back down in the chair, looking up at the dripping fluid coming from the IV bag.

**INT. EDDIE'S APARTMENT**

Next Buck goes to Eddie’s room. After flipping on the light, he looks around and takes it in -the order and organization, the tight corners of the bed spread around the edges of the mattress - definitely a trademark of a military man. He takes a seat on the bed. He noticed the smell of Eddie’s room, like sandalwood and cedar - mixed with hints of vanilla and fresh laundry. There were also notes of Eddie’s cologne in the room. He took a deep breath through his nose, trying to savor every molecule of the scent in the air. During this moment, he looked down and began to fidget with Eddie’s watch on his wrist. ‘Maybe now is a good time to leave this here,’ Buck thought.’I can place it under the bed where it is still visible, so that Eddie would notice it the next time he came home - problem solved’ 

‘No,’ he thought. ‘Now is not the time to worry about the watch.’ 

**INT. HOSPITAL - CHRISTOPHER’S BEDSIDE**

The nurse exits the room and gives Eddie another compassionate look. He smiles back as if if to say, ‘thank you.’ His gaze turns to Christopher again. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He looks down at his wrist to check the time, and remembers yet again that his watch is missing. Instead of anxiously reacting this time, he gives up and just gently rubs his wrist where the watch is usually placed. He has no more energy to worry or be anxious anymore. No more energy for anything. He’s exhausted. 

**INT. EDDIE'S APARTMENT**

Buck walks toward Eddie’s dresser, opening drawers and removing several items of clothing and tossing them in the bag. Socks, boxer brief trunks, a couple of t-shirts, a pair of jeans. He closes the dresser and walks to the closet, where he pulls a blue and gray plaid flannel shirt. Suddenly, when he grabs Eddie’s shirt, the reality of the situation begins to set in - the possibility that his best friend may be in love with him. And the reality that he could not reciprocate those feelings broke his heart. ‘Eddie is my friend. My brother,’ he thought - the possibility of him being more than that vexed him. 

‘Maybe it’s not that at all,’ Buck thought. ‘Maybe this is all a misunderstanding. There still could be another explanation for the watch. After all, Eddie doesn’t seem like the gay type. He has only been with women; he has loved women. He has never once made a move on me. If ever there was a guy for him, I mean, hey, I’m not that bad looking.’ Buck suddenly felt stupid for assuming Eddie’s feelings for him. ‘Lastly, nobody calls me Evan - not even Maddie. There has to be another reason. I’ll just see how he responds when I give the watch back to him.’ 

Buck seems a little more relieved now and walks toward the front door, turning off the lights on the way out. He exits the door and before he shuts it, takes a quick look around the apartment, taking it all in once more. ‘Why does all of this mean so much to me?’ ‘Why do I care about the smell of Eddie’s room? The way he is so neat and orderly with his things? Why do I care? The short moment of relief was suddenly clouded by more conflicting questions. More questions than answers now - about his own feelings. And about Eddie’s. ‘What’s more than a brother?’ Buck slowly shuts the door.

*Scene Soundtrack: “Light Years” - William Fitzsimmons*

((Song ends here and fades out as the door shuts))

\---------------------------------------------------------------

** INT. BUCK’S JEEP - NIGHT TIME **

Buck makes glances around his blind spots as he merges onto the highway. 

BUCK  
Hey, Siri, call Maddie.

The sound of a phone ringing can be heard through the car stereo. Several rings go by as Buck repositions his body and runs his hand through his hair out of anxiety. Finally, a click.

MADDIE  
Hey. What’s up?

BUCK  
Everything. And nothing I guess.

MADDIE  
What’s wrong?

BUCK  
Nothing. Just tired. I’m on my way to the hospital now. Eddie asked me to stop at his place and grab a few things.

MADDIE  
Listen, Buck, it’s probably not as bad as you think. Maybe it was just a febrile seizure. You said Christopher wasn’t feeling well earlier today, right?

BUCK  
Yeah. I know. I thought about that. I’m not sure about all of the details yet. I’m sure the doctors will a have some more info by now.

Silence. Buck and Maddie each take a breath. 

More silence.

MADDIE  
Sooo....

BUCK  
What?

MADDIE  
You gonna tell me what else is bothering you?

BUCK  
Who said anything else was bothering me? It’s Christopher, ya know? He’s been through enough.

MADDIE  
Okay. If you say so.

BUCK  
Look. I promise, I would tell you if there was something else. I think it has just been a long day - and to end it this way...

MADDIE  
Yeah. I know. Well I have my phone on me. If you need anything, call me. I’m gonna text Eddie and tell him the same.

BUCK  
Maddie?

MADDIE  
Yeah? What?

BUCK  
I love you.

MADDIE  
I love you too. It’s gonna be okay, Buck.

The phone clicks as Buck hits the end call button on his steering wheel. He lets out a sigh of relief and continues to focus on the road in front of him. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn’t. He fought his urges in order to keep Eddie’s potential secret safe.

**INT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT TIME**

The elevator doors open to the pediatric unit where Christopher’s room is located. As the doors open, they reveal Buck in the rear center of the elevator, leaning against the wall with each hand resting on the railing - the black and blue gym bag hanging from the strap around his shoulder. He is staring down at the floor of the elevator. He looks up and begins to walk out. 

As he exits, the doors shut behind him. He slows his pace to allow himself time to think of what to say before seeing Eddie. He stares down at the tiles on the floor as his feet walk past them.

Before he can think of anything clear, Josephina spots him. She rises from her chair in the waiting area and intercepts Buck like a football before he can walk any further. She grabs both of his wrists and looks him in the eye sincerely.

JOSEPHINA  
Buck! Thank you so much for coming. 

BUCK  
Oh! It’s no problem at all! I’m excited to see my best buddy! How’s he doing?

JOSEPHINA  
He’s doing the best he can... he’s worried of course. He hasn’t left Christopher’s bedside since he got here. 

Buck looked up and smiled as he cocked his head to the side and raised his left eyebrow. He wanted to say, “Actually I was talking about Christopher,” but he didn’t want to be rude. He figured that the kind thing to do was to not correct her. After all, ‘Eddie is my best buddy too,’ he thought. ‘is buddy more than a brother?’

BUCK  
That’s our hero. I’m glad he has you.

JOSEPHINA  
And you...

Josephina smiles in a way that made Buck wonder, ‘Does she know? Has Eddie mentioned something?’

Buck smiled back. He reaches out and gives her a hug.

BUCK  
I won’t stay long. I’m just gonna go back and see the boys for a second and give Eddie his stuff.

JOSEPHINA  
Okay, handsome. I’ll see you later.

Buck turns and starts to head down the hallway, thinking to himself: ‘What am I going to say? Do I even bring it up? Maybe now is not the time for all of this. I think I’ll just hand the watch to him. Or maybe I can just put it in the bag. I’ll just hand it to him and say that I found it in his apartment.’

Buck stops suddenly in his tracks, making a squeak on the floor with his boots. He realizes that Eddie’s watch is still around his wrist. ‘He definitely can’t see me wearing it... but he won’t think twice if I just hand it to him and act natural. He quickly fumbles around with the strap as he removes it. Holding the watch in his hand, he finally walks in to the room, ready to hand it off.

The lights were dimmed. He sees Christopher, sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed and feels relieved that there were no tubes or ventilators hooked up - only an IV and a saline drip. Eddie seemed to be looking in the direction of the door. 

Buck, holding out the watch to Eddie, steps forward.

BUCK  
Eddie, guess what I fou...

He stops speaking before he can finish his sentence. 

He realizes that Eddie is fast asleep - sleeping while sitting up, but leaned back in the chair with his feet spread out on the floor in front of him to hold his position. ‘Asleep sitting up,’ Buck thinks, ‘Geeze he must be exhausted.’ 

Buck involuntarily smiles from ear to ear. He doesn’t have the heart to wake Eddie. Eddie has finally found some peace in this crazy day. He stood for a moment and looked at Eddie and Christopher, both soundly asleep and at peace. 

He was surprised at the feeling that overwhelmed him in this moment - he felt...protective. Knowing that they were both safe.. both on a floor of capable doctors and nursing staff.. down the hall from Josephina.. security staff on the floor.. he knew that physically, Eddie and Christopher couldn’t be more safe. They didn’t need protecting. But still...there he stood, despite all of the security of the surroundings. He realized that his only job in the world in that moment was to protect them. ‘From what?’ he wondered. Maybe from nothing. Maybe to simply protect them from interruptions so they could sleep. Maybe just to stand watch. ’Who knows?’ he thought. He stood proudly as a royal guard would stand.

At this time, he was more scared of waking either of them than anything. Despite desperately wanting to talk to Eddie, or see the excitement on Christopher’s face when he sees that “his Buck” came to see him, Buck refrains. **He wanted nothing more than to wake them, but at the same time, wanted nothing more than to let them sleep.**

Buck sets the bag down in the corner and slips the watch into his pants pocket. He recognizes the familiar smell of sandalwood and cedar as he walks past Eddie. He then quietly walks around to the other side of Christopher’s bed. For a second he stares at the glasses on the table - the glasses with the bright red strap that he remembered finding during the aftermath of the tsunami. 

A memory flashed across his field of vision again - this time in slow motion: He sees himself in the dirty, wet white shirt, placing Christopher’s glasses around his neck. He remembers the feeling of trying too will himself to not give up. The feeling of placing them around his neck and knowing that from that moment on, they were bonded forever - good or bad. At that moment he and Christopher were the same. 

Buck flashes back to reality. He leans in to Christopher’s right ear and whispers to him. 

As he leans in, Eddie opens his eyes very slightly and sees a blurry silhouette of Buck on the other side of the bed. He hears Buck whispering to Christopher:

BUCK  
You’ll be safe tonight; your dad is with you. You’re not lost. He loves you more than anything in this world. I’ll try to come by and see you tomorrow. Sleep tight, buddy.

Buck stops leaning and stands up straight. Eddie closes his eyes to pretend he is sleeping. Eddie sits in the chair, trying not to break and reveal a smile or a tear... keeping his eyes closed as not to let Buck know that he heard him. **Eddie wanted nothing more than to stand up and hug Buck, but at the same time, he wanted nothing more than to let Buck have his private moment with Christopher, uninterrupted.** He knew that although HE is Christopher’s father, Buck and Christopher had something special.

Buck turns and walks toward the exit of the room. Before leaving, he turns and looks directly at Eddie this time. Now that he feels comfortable whispering (thinking that he hasn’t woken Eddie so far)... He whispers again, this time to a sleeping Eddie:

BUCK  
...goodnight, buddy.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

**INT. ATHENA & BOBBY’S HOUSE - MORNING**

Sunlight peers in though the dining room windows, illuminating the dining room table that was littered with Chinese take-out containers and chopsticks. A couple of empty wine glasses sit near the edge of one side of the table.

Bobby walks out of the bedroom, dressed in his work t-shirt and pants. He sets down his gym bag, removes a chair from the dining room table, and sits down. He laces up his boots. May exits her bedroom and sees bobby sitting at the table.

MAY  
Good morning, Bobby.

BOBBY  
Hey there. Good morning.

Bobby gets up and begins clearing the table and the mess from last night’s dinner.

BOBBY  
So today’s the big day, I heard...

MAY  
I know. I can’t wait. I’m thinking something in multiple shades of blue. 

BOBBY  
Blue is good. Makes it easy for the guy to match too.

MAY  
Oh. I’m not going with a a guy.

BOBBY  
Really? I thought you and Bobby #2 had something going still.

MAY  
Bobby #2 is great, but me and the girls decided that we’re just gonna go as a group. No boys allowed. I want senior prom to be a blast - no boy drama.

BOBBY  
Okay. Sounds fun. 

MAY  
Well.. if Bobby #2 asks me to dance, I won’t say no.

BOBBY  
Well, I’m off to work. I’m excited for you. Send me a pic of the dress when you decide, okay?

MAY  
I will.

They give each other a smile as Bobby head toward the door.

MAY  
Oh. Where’ s mom?

Bobby turns around.

BOBBY  
Oh yeah she left early this morning. She said she wanted to check on Dex after the shooting yesterday - make sure he’s okay.

MAY  
Gotcha. Do you think SHE’S okay?

BOBBY  
Your mom?! Absolutely. If you saw her in action at work, you’d understand. 

**INT. HOSPITAL CHRISTOPHER’S ROOM - MORNING**

The once dimly lit room is now full of sunlight and people. Josephina sits in a chair near Christopher’s hospital bed. Christopher is looking up at Eddie, who is standing on the other side of the bed with one hand on his chin - the other in his pocket. The floor’s pediatric doctor is standing near the foot of the bed facing Eddie.

CHRISTOPHER  
Dad. Can we go home?

EDDIE  
Just a sec, Christopher.

Eddie looks over at the doctor.

EDDIE   
Doctor...?

Eddie says in a questioning manner, as if the doctor should know the he is supposed to answer Christopher’s question.

DOCTOR  
So here’s the concern, Mr. Diaz. I’ve been in touch with Christopher’s neurologist. He thinks that Christopher should be kept for a couple more days for observation.

EDDIE  
For a seizure? That sounds a little extreme. He’s had seizures before and been fine.

DOCTOR  
But he has always returned to normal relatively quickly after those seizures, correct? Your aunt says that this seizure lasted longer than the others... and he was weak and lethargic for much longer. His chart says he was out of it for most of the night.

EDDIE  
Is it possible it could have just been a fever that caused it? He was weak and tired in the school nurse’s office yesterday. 

DOCTOR  
We show that his temperature has been normal since his arrival and a normal white blood cell count. But... His lab work has shown abnormal values of valproic acid in his system. 

EDDIE  
Oh. Well that could be because of his medication right?

DOCTOR  
You’ve been through this before, I see. That’s what we’re thinking. Dr. Levine said that he recently changed Christopher’s medication. He just wants us to keep him for another day until we can get his levels back into a normal therapeutic range. He also insisted - due to Christopher’s complex neurological history.

CHRISTOPHER  
...because I have CP?

Eddie understands what the doctor is trying to explain. He turns to Christopher - to translate the information in to words an eight year-old would understand, but also with a delicate understanding that it could make Christopher sad. He knows Christopher hates being in the hospital.

EDDIE  
I’m sorry, Christopher. I agree with the doctors. I think it is going to be safer if we stay here for a little while.

Christopher looks away from Eddie toward the wall. He doesn’t want to show Eddie that he is upset.

CHRISTOPHER  
...okay.

EDDIE  
I’ll see if Buck and Bobby can come by and see you today.

Eddie turns and looks at the doctor.

EDDIE  
Thank you, doctor. 

Eddie pulls out his phone and begins sending messages to update everybody on the situation.

  
**INT. FIRE HOUSE**

Bobby is standing at the stovetop making the final touches on lunch. He tastes the sauce and decides to add a pinch of some freshly chopped basil that he prepared. The rest of the crew are chatting casually and setting the table.

HEN  
Buck, any word on Christopher?

BUCK  
Yeah. Eddie texted me a little while ago. He said Christopher is back to normal, but they’re keeping him at the hospital for evaluation. Something about a change to his medication.

CHIM  
Probably his Depakote. Eddie was asking me about it a couple of weeks ago.

Chimney places a hand on buck’s shoulder as he slides past him.

CHIM  
I’m glad he’s okay. I should stop by the hospital and see him. He sat with me in the hospital once after... well you know.

BUCK  
Oh yeah? I didn’t know that.

Buck turns to Bobby as Bobby begins walking the pot over to the table.

BUCK  
Cap, what do you think about Eddie’s request for us to stop by?

BOBBY  
Why do you think I made so much food today? 

Bobby places the pot on the table and walks back to the counter near the stove to pick up on more plate of food.

BOBBY  
And why do you think I went through the trouble to make these?

Bobby places the plate on the table. It was covered in small rectangles of grilled cheese sandwiches that had been sliced.  
Buck sees this and smiles. They were just the way Bobby had made them when Christopher first visited the fire house. ‘Something familiar will be great,’ buck thought to himself.

HEN  
Bobby, how is Athena doing after yesterday? That was a lot of blood.

BOBBY  
Oh you know her. She’s back on the job. Apparently she and Dex are tracking down lead - looking for the shooter.

CHIM  
He’s still on the loose?

BOBBY  
Apparently. Alright. Now everybody enjoy but try to eat quickly so we can make it down to the hospital before it gets too late.

**INT. OFFICE BUILDING WITH RENOVATION**

Athena and Dex park their police cars on a sidewalk adjacent to a five story office building. The building looked sleek and modern with the exception of the ground floor on the rear side of the building, which was under construction. Employees and office workers were seen entering and exiting the building through the front side. 

Athena and Dex walk to the edge of the side walk along the side of the building and peer downward to a lowered parking lot area in the back. The rear entrance was covered in plastic wrap and had large pieces of construction equipment and vehicles parked outside. No construction workers were visible in the area. No bystanders of any kind. As Athena walked closer to the site, it became clear to her that the construction had been halted for sometime. No work had been done in weeks.

ATHENA  
So why here?

DEX  
What?

ATHENA  
Why here? Why a crowded office building that is under construction? Something doesn’t add up.

DEX  
This is where the witness said the shooter ran. Down the hill and into the rear ground entrance through that big open area near all of the plastic.

ATHENA  
The witness... a drug dealer. Hardly trustworthy.

DEX  
He works with our department now. His intel has always been solid. No apparent connection to this “hitchhiking gunman.” He has no reason to lie to us.

ATHENA  
Other than to keep himself looking good. A false trail... we follow up and find nothing... he looks like he’s doing his best to help.

DEX  
It’s the only lead we have. I think we should check it out. Do you think we should call for backup?

ATHENA  
Not until we know what we’re dealing with. I don’t trust those drug dealer assholes. Let’s just check it out and mark this off of the list. 

Athena and Dex walk down and around the building and through the field of construction. Both are on high-alert - walking slowly as they look around for any possible sign of danger.

As they approach the building. Athena slowly looks around the corner of the plastic and visually searches the enclosed area for any signs of movement or a trap. What she sees is a large open area similar to parking deck. Concrete flooring covered in dirt and old muddy boot prints. Columns spaced throughout the area holding up the floor above. The area was about the size of a football field. The lighting in the area was ample in the front but diminished as she looked toward the south end of the building. 

Dex, standing about ten feet away, sees a padlocked metal box on the ground that has no Earthly place in an area like this. He whispers to Athena to signal her attention. She looked over to see the clean black metal box with reinforced steel. The box was long, thing and rectangularly shaped. She took a deep breath and nodded to Dex. She knew what was in the box before she watched Dex break open the lock with the butt of his gun. After a few loud smacks, the lock breaks. Dex opens the lid and reveals the contents.

Athena closes her eyes, realizing when she saw the assault rifles that they were dealing with something much more serious. On scale much bigger than what they thought.

In this instant, before they can think of what to do next, a moving light in the distance toward the south of the building catches Athena’s eye. She could hear footsteps moving toward them as the light was bouncing back and forth in the darkness. 

She sees the light stop instantly. The footsteps stop instantly. Silence. And darkness. Athena gives Dex a look. He looks at her as if they both know it is the last time they will see each other. Athena abruptly ducks behind the wall and draws her gun. Gunfire immediately begins like loud firecrackers in a small space. She sees Dex take several hits and collapse to the ground. She gasps and begins to breathe heavily. She only let the shock affect her for a second before she runs down the edge of the building while ducking for cover. As soon as she is out of line of sight, she radios for backup.

**INT. 911 COMMUNICATIONS CENTER - LOUNGE AREA**

Maddie and Josh are sitting in the lounge area, laughing as Josh rips open two Splenda packets and begins doctoring his coffee.

MADDIE  
I guess that would make you my brother-in-law.

JOSH  
Only if we got married. 

Maddie laughs but with a serious face.

MADDIE  
So, you have no problem doing inappropriate things with my brother, but you wouldn’t marry him?

Josh takes a sip from his coffee cup and is chuckling.

JOSH  
What? Your brother is hot! No doubt. He’s just not the type I could see settling down.

MADDIE  
He’s sweeter and more serious than you think. I think you’d be surprised if you knew him better.

JOSH  
No. I can tell. Now, Eddie on the other hand.

JOSH  
That guy... I could marry. 

MADDIE  
Well. Since they are both straight and very much into women, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree, sport.

JOSH  
Hey. I can dream.

Just as Josh and Maddie chuckle and bring their coffee cups up to take a sip, a coworker, Lydia, runs into the room.

LYDIA  
Hey guys. I know you’re on break, but there’s an incident. We need you!

MADDIE  
What kind of incident?

LYDIA  
A mass casualty incident. A mass shooting - active threat still in progress. The calls are coming in fast!

Josh and Maddie put their cups down and briskly walk out of the room and onto the main floor. The once controlled scene had become chaos. Phones ringing. Lights flashing from desks. Supervisors running to assist call takers.

**INT. FIRE HOUSE**

As the crew is loading up the food into the truck to bring to the hospital for Christopher and Eddie, light and alarms begin going off. 

BUCK  
Of course.

BOBBY  
That’s the name of the game, buddy. Let’s go

They all hop into the vehicle and head out from the station. 

BOBBY  
Alright, it sounds like we have an MCI on our hands. Multiple gun shot victims in an office building. Game faces, guys. 

Hen and Chim grab the active shooter bags and toss them to the other crew members. The fire truck flies down the road. Bobby takes the plate of sliced grilled cheese sandwiches and slides them under his seat.

**INT. SCENE - STAGING AREA AT THE MASS SHOOTING SCENE**

The 118 Fire truck and ambulance pull up to the staging area, which as been set up in an adjacent parking lot but out of line-of-sight from the office building. As the vehicles pull in, multiple fire trucks and police cars area already on scene. 

As they pull in, a fire fighter from the 136, dressed in a reflective yellow jacket directs the 118 vehicles to pull in to the rear are of the parking lot. Buck is driving, he slows down enough so that the firefighter can speak to him. The firefighter yells to Buck through the window, “We need you to park back there. Then we need all of your personnel over at our truck. You’ll get your assignments there. Buck gives him a thumbs up and parks as he is directed. The crew climbs out of the truck. 

BOBBY  
Alright. Active threat protocol. They said that there may be another shooter loose in the building. They’re probably going to want to form a rescue task force. Everybody remember the drill we ran last year? Same thing. Hen grab the active shooter bags. I’m gonna get up to the command post and get our assignments.

Jackson, one of the newer firefighters, appears nervous and walks toward Buck. 

JACKSON  
I missed the drill last year. I’ve never had an MCI before.

BUCK  
It’s alright man. You remember the rules of triage?

JACKSON  
Of course. START Triage was the last system I was trained in. 

BUCK  
Good. Remember - green is walking wounded. Yellow for delayed. Red is immediate life threat. Black is ...

JACKSON  
Dead.

BUCK  
Yep. Grab your gear. Let’s go!

The crew runs toward the command center to meet up with Bobby. Bobby is standing near a cloud of other personnel - firefighters mixed with police officers. They all notice a familiar face standing near a large dry-erase board, speaking to the crowd. 

LENA  
118, I’m glad to see you guys! Gary, hand them their radios. 

A firefighter walks toward Bobby and the crew and hands them small handheld radios.

LENA  
Everybody listen up! The SWAT teams are currently tied up with the bank robbery on the North side of the city. So it’s just us. We have reports of dozens of gun shot victims on the inside. We believe the shooter has been neutralized, but we don’t know if there is another. Based on our best estimate, we’re going to form two rescue task forces. They will be RTF1 and RTF2. We need to act quickly people. Bobby, we’re operating on Tac 3. 

Bobby turns to the crew and explains to all of them to keep their radios on Tac 3. 

LENA  
Bobby are both of your paramedics here? 

BOBBY  
Yes.

LENA  
Good. I’ll need one of them on each team. And one of your EMTs on each team. They will be joining other EMTs and medics from other stations.

BOBBY  
You got it. 

Bobby turns to his crew.

BOBBY  
Hen, Buckley. You guys will be with RTF1. Chim, you take Jackson. You’ll be with RTF2. Make sure you stay on Tac 3. 

LENA  
Each RTF (rescue task force) will be made up of three police officers, two medics, and two EMTs. Each RTF will have a police officer team leader. You don’t move or do anything without their permission. Stick together and remember your active threat training and protocols. Alright. Let’s save some lives. STAY ON GUARD. This is still considered a hot zone!

**INT. 911 COMMUNICATIONS CENTER**

The calls continue to flood in. Maddie sits at her desk calmly despite the chaos around her. Josh runs over to her.

JOSH  
Maddie. We need you. 

She turns in her chair and looks at him intensely.

MADDIE  
What is it?

JOSH  
Look. Between the bank robbery and the MCI, the radio channels are overrun. They have requested that somebody monitor the Tac channels and make sure that messages are getting through to the appropriate people.

MADDIE  
Oh. Got it. I’ve never handled the Tac channels before.

JOSH  
Oh don’t worry. I’m gonna be handling them. 

Maddie looks confused.

MADDIE  
Oh okay. What do you need ME to do?

JOSH  
I need you to manage all staff that aren’t assigned to the MCI and the bank robbery. It’s going to be tough keeping everything organized. 

MADDIE  
But that’s a supervisor duty. I’m not sure I...

JOSH  
I know. But there are no more supervisors. You’re all I’ve got. You can do this. You’ve done it before.

MADDIE  
Okay I’m on it. Let’s do this.

Josh walks away and looks down at his phone as he walks back to the other side of the floor.

**INT. SCENE - STAGING AREA - EARLY EVENING**

Bobby grabs the crew members of the 118 and huddles them together before splitting up.

BOBBY  
Alright guys. Remember to stay safe. Stay alert. You are my family. I want everyone back alive. Save who you can. Know who you can’t save. 

BUCK  
Wait. Aren’t you coming with us?

BOBBY  
I’ve got to stay here to complete the command structure. They still need command officers. I’ll be in the Command Center. 

HEN  
So Lena Bosko is running the show?

BOBBY  
No. She’s just the Staging Officer. 

CHIMNEY  
Alright guys let’s do this. We’ve got people bleeding out in there!

They all give each other one last look and nod their heads before breaking up into their groups.

LENA  
Alright! RTF 1, I just received the all-clear. Move in! Go!

Buck, Hen, and the other police and firefighters in their group run in straight line toward the entrance of the building with a police officer leading in front. The leader and all other officers have their weapons drawn. Buck, Hen, and the others have their tactical vests, helmets, and active shooter bags on. They all halt just before for entering. They each place one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them and slowly file in through the door in a single line. Bobby watches them disappear into the darkness of the doorway, closes his eyes and says a prayer.

Bobby walks over to the command center and pulls out his phone to call Athena. The phone goes straight to voicemail. He sends her a text, “Where are you? Been trying to reach you all day!” He then calls Maddie.

MADDIE  
Bobby. Hey! I don’t think you’ve  
ever called me before.

BOBBY  
I know. I’m stuck at the MCI and don’t have a lot of time. Listen, I need a favor. I’m really worried about Athena. I haven’t heard from her all day. I know she’s on duty. Are you able to look in the CAD and see if she is on a call?

Maddie walks back to her desk and sits down for a second. She begins clicking around on the screen.

MADDIE  
Oh, Bobby... 

BOBBY  
What is it? Where is she?

MADDIE  
She was the first officer on-scene there.

BOBBY  
What?

MADDIE  
The original call came from her radio. She radioed in and asked for back up. She reported gunfire and that an officer was down. Wait... she’s not there with you?

Bobby’s heart sinks. The day he thought he would never have to face may have come. 

BOBBY  
No... No she’s not.

Bobby turns and looks up at the building. While looking up he hears gun shots. The entire crowd of personnel falls completely silent. Several more gun shots are heard coming from inside the building. Bobby is frozen. Bosko stands with the radio in her hand, she tries to call RTF1.

LENA  
RTF1. Do you copy?

Radio silence.

LENA  
RTF1. What’s going on up there? Are you okay?

Radio silence.

**INT. HOSPITAL CHRISTOPHER'S ROOM - NIGHT TIME**

Eddie sits beside the hospital bed. He has crayons in each hand. Getting ready to hand each one to Christopher as he requests each color. He watched as Christopher created a thank you card for the 118. Eddie smiled. He was so proud of his son, who seemed to be more like a demanding renaissance painter, requesting colors from his assistant, Eddie. 

Josephina was sitting in the other chair watching the news on the television. The news broadcaster was reporting from the scene of the MCI. She recognized the fire truck in the background with the large “E118” on the front. 

JOSEPHINA  
Edmundo!

She points up at the TV and begins to turn up the volume. Eddie looks over at her, and then follows her finger to where she is pointing - up at the TV. He stands up when he recognizes the fire truck. He watches in disbelief as he listens to the reporter.

REPORTER  
...and possibly dozens more are injured inside. We know that one... oh wait... I’m getting another report...

Eddie puts both hands on his head, physically showing his anxiety. ‘Don’t. Don’t say it.’ 

REPORTER  
Shots fired. Apparently there were shots fired just moments ago. Nobody is able to reach the rescue task force that entered the building.

Eddie throws his hands down and begins walking quickly toward the door. He grabs his jacket on the way out. As he steps through the doorway, Josephina grabs his arm and stops him.

JOSEPHINA  
Dont.

EDDIE  
.......

Eddie turns to her and grabs her by her shoulders. He pulls her in and kisses her on the forehead. He releases her and walks over to Christopher, who is still coloring and drawing like a madman. 

EDDIE  
Christopher.

Christopher acknowledges him, but continues his work of art.

CHRISTOPHER  
Yeah, Dad?

EDDIE  
I’ve got to go take care of something. I love you, little man. I’ll be back.

He kisses Christopher on the head and gives him a big hug. Christopher smiles and hugs him back. As Eddie stands back up, Christopher grabs his crayons and immediately goes back to work. 

JOSEPHINA  
What are you doing?

She grabs Eddie and they both step out into the hallway.

EDDIE  
I have to do this. I have to. Thats my family out there. They need me!

JOSEPHINA  
He’s your family in there!

She points toward Christopher’s room. 

JOSEPHINA  
HE needs you! HIM. I need you! WE are you family. You’re gonna get yourself killed. And then what? What happens to your family then?!

Eddie looks into the room at Christopher. Trying to imagine Christopher’s broken heart if something were to happen to their 118 family. ‘Bobby, Hen, Chim... and...,’ Eddie thought to himself. ‘No,’ he thought. I have to do something. 

EDDIE  
Listen to me. I know you don’t understand. You are ALL my family. And right now we have to work together. I know you guys taught me growing up that family is the most important thing. Well I’m telling you... my other family needs me now. If Christopher knew what was going on, he would want me to do the same thing. He would want me to go. 

JOSEPHINA  
I... I just don’t want anything to happen to you. What would I tell Christopher if you didn’t come back. 

EDDIE  
I’m trying to prevent what we’d have to tell him if Bobby or Buck doesn’t come back... and if he knew they were in danger, and I did nothing to help. 

JOSEPHINA  
......

EDDIE  
If something happened to Buck... to any of them. I would never forgive myself. 

JOSEPHINA  
Go. I love you. I’m so proud of you. Just go now. Be careful, Edmundo, please. Please come back.

Eddie lifts her chin up with his index finger so that she is looking him in the eye.

EDDIE  
I will. I promise. I’ve got to go now.

Eddie runs to the elevator and presses the button. While he waits, he turns and looks at Josephina standing at the edge of Christopher’s room. She blows him a kiss. He smiles. He looks in at his son, Christopher lying in bed. He takes a deep breath, knowing that although his son is only eight years old, Christopher may be the only other person in the world that understands why he must do this. 

The elevator doors open, and Eddie enters. He turns around and looks outward as the doors close.

\---------------------------------------------------------------  
\---------------------------------------------------------------

END OF CHAPTER 2.


	3. Chapter 3: Eddie Begins (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie's past experiences as an Army medic in Afghanistan becomes significant as he begins to face the challenges that lay between him and rescuing his crew. The significance of Eddie's watch is revealed.

**INT. HELICOPTER RIDE INTO AFGHANISTAN DESERT MILITARY BASE - DAYTIME **

*Scene Soundtrack: “Highway to Hell” - AC/DC*

((Music begins with solo guitar intro and a black screen. The caption appears on the screen in the center))

“AFGHANISTAN - U.S. ARMY ENCAMPMENT 2009”

((**as the drums enter the song during track, the black screen fades to an image of a clear blue sky with white puffy clouds**))

A tan helicopter flies by the camera as the camera follows. 

Camera angle then begins to show the crew inside the chopper. Several excited and anxious army soldiers are strapped in along the wall area wearing all of their gear. Eddie is sitting on the wall bench with his back straight up, perfect posture, and his clean boots flat on the floor. Light dances off of his army issued sunglasses as he looks out of the window. He sees a beautiful scape of perfectly blue sky juxtaposed along the orange and tan horizon of the endless desert terrain stretched out to a distant mountain range in the distance. He looks around at his fellow comrades, nodding, as if to say, ‘this is it. We’re finally here.’

((**music continues as the chopper lands and the crew exits the craft in a hurry**))

As Eddie and his fellow soldiers exit the craft and run quickly through the swirling sandstorm created by the helicopter, we see an excited and nervous look on his face. He and the crew run to their reporting officer and fall into attention with their gear and packs.

Eddie remaining still and erect, maintaining his perfect posture and confident exterior, appears to be a model soldier. He stands still and attempts to slow his breathing down. Sweat dripping from his temples on the side of his head. He loved the smell of the site. Fuel mixed with the clean desert air and coffee wafting from a nearby tent. A man slightly taller than Eddie appears in his right field of vision and walks past to stand in front of the group. Eddie knew this man before he spoke - his new immediate supervisor, Jones. Eddie did not know his first name, just that he had several nicknames: “Indie” and “Doc” were a couple of them. 

((**music begins to fade out at this time))

As Jones was speaking, he walked in front of Eddie and stopped as he finished his speech. Eddie was finally able to see the face of the man he had heard so much about. As Eddie looked through his sunglasses, he knew it was safe to eye up his new supervisor, get a measure of him as a soldier and as a man. He immediately understood the nickname, “Indie.” A clever reference to Indiana Jones - not just because of the shared last name, but because of his uncanny resemblance to a young Harrison Ford. This man carried himself differently than the other soldiers that Eddie was used to. He seemed confident, strict, but also laid back and relaxed. ‘Is it the man himself, or are all of the soldiers in this area laid back?’ Eddie wondered to himself. 

Eddie’s mind began to drift slightly, which was unusual for him. He is normally so focused and present. But he couldn’t help but wonder about the man in front of him. ‘How could somebody so relaxed be in charge of a group of army medics? - especially this young, vibrant movie star-looking guy.’ He was clean cut and good-looking - just rugged enough to pass as a man you would not want to tussle with, but friendly enough that you could you could buy him a beer without feeling awkward. 

Jones stepped closer to Eddie and looked at him directly in the face. Before he spoke, Eddie could smell a subtle, leftover scent of shaving cream. It smelled woody, like cedar. And then Jones spoke. He was close enough that Eddie could smell his breath. He had just brushed his teeth or was was chewing gum - it was spearmint.

JONES  
Diaz.

EDDIE  
Yes, sir.

JONES  
You’re with me, rookie. 

EDDIE  
Yes, sir.

JONES  
The rest of you fall out. You guys know where to go. Diaz, walk with me.

Jones turned and began walking way from Eddie toward one of the tents. Eddie grabbed his gear and quickly followed. He looked up and followed his new leader. Downwind, he could still smell the scent of cedar mixed with something different now - soap maybe. Maybe spearmint and a little bit of sweat. Something about it was comforting. There were other welcoming scents in the air - hints of rubber, fuel, coffee, gunpowder, campfire. It was hard for Eddie to stay present. He quickened his pace to keep up with Jones.

JONES  
So why’d you choose medic?

Eddie quickly searched his mind for an answer. His answer couldn’t just be the truth, but needed to make a good impression. He thought quickly as to how he wanted to appear - Confident/trustworthy? Intelligent/studious? Humble/eager to learn? Funny/witty? And then he spoke.

EDDIE  
A&P, I guess.

Jones stopped and turned to look at Eddie. He smirked, surprised at Eddie’s answer.

JONES  
A&P?

EDDIE  
Well, I knew I was never going to be the strongest or the fastest soldier, so I chose an area where I knew I could be useful. I loved Anatomy & Physiology in high school. My teacher said I was talented - had a mind for medicine. She tried to talk me into going to med school.

JONES  
Hmmm. 

Jones then turned around and began walking again. Eddie didn’t know what to make of this response. 

JONES  
I like you, Diaz.

Jones turned around and threw Eddie a quick smile. Eddie had never been more confused. ‘Why would he say that? How could he even know me?’

JONES  
Rule number one. Call me Jason. 

EDDIE  
Okay.

JONES  
The guys have so many names for me around here. They all call me Jones, Indie, or Doc. But I can’t always look up and see who is talking to me. When I hear my first name, I’ll know that it’s one of my men. 

EDDIE  
Yes, sir.

JONES  
Since we’re gonna be saving lives hopefully, I like for me and my men to be on a first name basis. It’s not traditional for the Army, but they’ve given me some wiggle room out here. What’s your first name, Diaz?

EDDIE  
Edmundo... “Eddie.” 

JONES  
Edmundo? Never would have guessed that one. We’ll use it when we’re working. You’ll be Diaz the rest of the time. But when it’s just us... Jason and Edmundo. 

Eddie smiled and kept following behind Jason. Eddie liked him immediately.

((deep whoosh sound effect as the story flashes forward back to present day))

** INT. EDDIE’S TRUCK - NIGHTIME **

Rain hits the windshield of Eddie’s truck as he speeds down the highway from the hospital. The windshield wipers keep a rhythm that Eddie notices is temporarily synchronized with his heartbeat. Frustrated because nobody from the 118 will answer the phone, he angrily tosses his cell phone into the passenger seat.

His mind races with thoughts of uncertainty and pleas. ‘Please let them be okay. Please don’t let it be true. Maybe they weren’t assigned to a rescue task force. Maybe they will just be assisting at the scene. What do I do when I get there? He can see the spectacle even from the highway. Spotlights in the sky, flashing red and blue lights against the ceiling of clouds and rain overhead. 

Eddie takes the exit from the highway to get to the scene. He begins to take deep breaths to slow his heart rate. He starts to think of his 118 family. ‘Hen will be alright. She’s calm under pressure. She thinks about safety first. Chim never backs down from his duty, he’ll do what needs to be done. Bobby will keep everybody safe - likely put himself at risk before risking the safety of the others. Buck... Buck...God I hope he doesn’t do something stupid.

Eddie pulls up to the police officer at the blockade. He rolls down his window and shouts over the sound of the rain. He was nervous about what to say since he was clearly not on-duty or in uniform.

EDDIE  
I’m LAFD. I’m reporting for duty! I belong to the 118; they are already at the scene!

POLICE OFFICER  
Where’s your uniform?! I can’t let any unauthorized personnel or vehicles beyond this point!

The police officer holds up a metal clip board being shielded by a clear plastic bag. 

EDDIE  
My name should be on the roster! Under Engine 118! Edmundo Diaz, badge number 7-8-9!

The police officer looks down at the clipboard with his flashlight for a second, scanning the roster sheet. Eddie was nervous. He knew the procedures and knew that because he was off-duty, he would not be allowed to report to the scene without direct authorization from Bobby. He knew that Bobby would never authorize this - especially while Christopher was in the hospital. 

EDDIE  
Look, man. My brothers and sisters are in there. We’re a team. You know what I’m talking about.

POLICE OFFICER  
Exactly. So you understand why I have to do my job. It’s my job to keep the scene safe. I don’t know you, Diaz. If you really want to help them, get out of here and keep yourself safe.

Eddie was frustrated but understood. He rolled up his window. Before he left, he could see Engine 136 in the staging area. ‘Bosko,’ he thought. He gave the police officer a wave and began to turn around in the other direction.

As he starts to drive away to another entrance, he grabs his cell phone from the passenger seat and calls Lena. She doesn’t pick up. Before he can toss the cell phone in the passenger seat, he gets an immediate text response. He opens the message which was a voice message: 

LENA  
Eddie, I’m sorry I can’t answer. This is a really bad time. I’m running the staging scene. Can’t talk now.

Eddie tosses his phone back into the passenger seat. He pulls over down the road, out of site from the police officer he just spoke with. He reaches into his back seat and grabs a small black duffel bag. He unzips the bag to reveal a bright yellow LAFD safety vest, which he would normally use if he stumbles upon a car accident while off-duty. He exits his truck and locks it with his key fob. 

Quickly he runs through an alley way nearby. After making it to the end of the alley, he is across the street from the parking lot where he can see the treatment area. The injured victims that were lucky enough to escape the shooting on their own were found here. The treatment area was just adjacent to the area near the staging site. ‘I just need to get to Bosko,’ he thought. He can hear crying and wailing from some of the victims that were wounded. Yellow and green tarps marking off the classes of patients were splattered with blood. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he surveyed the survivors. He saw the frightened EMTs and paramedics as they struggled to deal with the large number of injured victims. Time became so still that he could hear his own heart pounding against his chest. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He opened his eyes and focused in on a young male EMT doing chest compressions on an adult female. He watched for a moment as the EMT exhausted himself trying to fight for this woman’s life until more help could arrive. Eddie seemed hypnotized by the rhythm of the compressions. He began to remember Afghanistan.

((deep whoosh sound effect as the story flashes backward to Eddie’s first tour in Afghanistan)).

**INT. MEDICAL TENT - DAY TIME.**

Eddie finished with the IV he was starting on a fellow soldier. He pulled the needle out and thread the catheter into the patient’s arm while he was occluding the vein. As he tossed the needle in the sharps container, he quickly caught sight of the mangled bodies that littered the tent. Soldiers on cots. Soldiers on the ground. All of them injured. Some of them had bandages that were made in a hurry. Some were missing limbs. Some were burned badly. Only four medics were in the tent - there were at least fifteen severely wounded soldiers.

Eddie connected the leur lock and tubing from the saline bag that was hanging to the patient’s IV site. He quickly taped it down as sweat was pouring off of his face. He unlocked the drip set and watched the saline flow rapidly into the drip chamber.

Jason stood up from where he was and shouted to Eddie.

JASON  
Edmundo! I need you now! I need help getting these wounds packed.

Eddie shot up from his seat and removed his gloves. He grabbed a new set of gloves from the box and started to hurry across the tent to Jason. 

Soldiers were reaching out to Eddie as he passed. “Help me!” “Diaz, wait, come back!” He could hear them saying through the sounds of wailing and moaning. When suddenly he heard something that pierced all of the noise: “He’s not breathing! He just stopped breathing! He has no pulse!” 

Eddie quickly turned to this voice and saw a soldier with a broken arm in a sling shaking an unresponsive soldier with his other hand. “Do something!” He yelled at Eddie. 

Eddie immediately turned and stepped toward the unresponsive soldier and felt for a carotid pulse. He felt nothing and immediately began chest compressions. 

EDDIE  
I need the defibrillator over here now! He just coded!

JASON  
Edmundo. I need you over here! Let’s go!

EDDIE  
Jason, he just coded. He might be in a shockable rhythm. Somebody grab me an EPI!

Jason grabs a nearby soldier and tells him to hold pressure on a wound where he was trying to control the bleeding. He briskly walked over to Eddie and stood next to him.

EDDIE  
Jason. I just need the defibrillator quick! 

JASON  
Edmundo. Stop.

Eddie looks up at Jason, confused with a crazed look in his eye. Eddie does not stop because he knows that if he does, the soldier will die, a soldier that he had come to know over the past four months. 

JASON  
Edmundo! Stop. He’s gone.

Eddie continues to ignore him and continues chest compressions. Sweat is dripping from his arms and face. His heart is racing. He knows that he is the soldier’s only chance to survive.

JASON  
Edmundo!!! DIAZ!!!! 

Eddie continues and does not stop. Then suddenly Jason lets out the loudest and most angry voice as he grabs Eddie by the collar and lifts him up.

JASON  
EDDIE!!!!!!!!

Eddie stops and lifts his hands. His eyes are full of fury, confusion, and sadness. His head is down. He can’t bring himself to look Jason in the eye. He glances over at the soldier’s friend with the broken arm, who begins to sob over the soldier’s body.

JASON  
Eddie. 

Jason’s tone is soft now. Completely different. Full of sympathy for Eddie, who doesn’t understand what just happened.

JASON  
Eddie, look at me.

Jason grabs Eddie’s chin and lifts it slowly with his index finger. Eddie gives in, almost in a defeated way. His eyes meet with Jason. Tears are welling up in Eddie’s eyes.

JASON  
Look around you, Eddie. It’s the hardest lesson.

Eddie wipes the sweat from his brow.

JASON  
You can’t save them all.

Eddie looks down at his feet. And then back up at Jason. He nods. And takes a deep breath. 

JASON  
Look around. You can’t help him. But you can help them. There are only four of us here. We need to save the ones that can be saved. Remember triage training? 

Eddie’s soldier instincts kick in. He stands up straight. And begins to shake off his emotions. He begins to bury the images of the soldier in the depths of his mind. The sounds of his wailing friend, pleading for them help. ‘It’s time to be a soldier now. Time to be strong. This man just died on my watch. I did nothing to save him.’ Thoughts ran through Eddie’s mind as he locked them deep within the corners of his mind where they couldn’t bother him while he continued to do his job. He looked Jason in his eyes.

EDDIE  
I remember. I understand.

JASON  
Good. Now come on man, I need you. They need you. 

Eddie walked with Jason over to the patient he was originally working on. The soldier’s friend reached up once more to Eddie. Eddie had never felt more cold in his life. ‘Who have I become?’ He thought. 

((deep whoosh sound effect as the story flashes forward to the present))

**INT. TREATMENT AREA AT THE SCENE.**

Eddie waits for the last ambulance to drive away and darts across the street, under the yellow tape, and into the treatment area. He stops in his tracks and looks over at the EMT doing chest compressions. He approached slowly and could see the EMT’s name on the back of his jacket, Dixon.

EDDIE  
Hey. 

DIXON  
What? I can’t stop.

EDDIE  
You have to, man. She’s gone okay? You have to let her go. 

DIXON  
No. She said her husband and daughter are worried about her. She has a family at home.

Eddie grabs Dixon’s arms. Dixon stops immediately and gives in. He gives in because he knows that Eddie is right. 

EDDIE  
You did good, man. I know it’s hard. But these other people need your help. 

Dixon is frozen. He can’t stop staring at the patient he was working on.

EDDIE  
Hey. 

Dixon looks up at Eddie.

EDDIE  
You can do this man. Let her go. There’s nothing we can do for her. Let’s help THEM okay?

DIXON  
....

Dixon looks down at the triage tag with the red flag. He tears the flag away, revealing a black tag. Eddie puts his hand on Dixon’s shoulder as he walks away, knowing how Dixon must feel. Eddie walks toward the staging area to find Lena.

** INT. BARRACKS TENT - AFGHANISTAN - NIGHT TIME **

Cots are set up all long the perimeter of the inside of the tent. A few large thick sheets hang from the ceiling, creating some partitions to separate the beds. Eddie is sitting on his cot in a corner partition of the tent. There are two other cots. Eddie is sitting alone, staring off into space - trying to sort through everything he saw earlier in the day. 

Jason walks past the corner of the partitioned area and sees Eddie sitting alone, staring at the wall of the tent, which was blank. No photos, no posted letters. Just blank. Jason stopped for a moment and thought to himself before speaking. He stuck his head in. 

JASON  
Edmundo.

Eddie doesn’t turn to face him. He responds but still staring at the wall.

EDDIE  
Sir.

JASON  
Hey, I need your help with something. Medical tent in five. 

EDDIE  
Got it. 

Jason walks away while looking down at the ground. Eddie continues to stare for a moment before finally grabbing his boots. He slides the boots on over his feet and begins to lace them up. He looks over at an opened letter laying beside his pillow. He slides it back under the pillow so that it is no longer visible. He pauses for a moment. Then stands up and walks out of the area.

**INT. MEDICAL TENT - NIGHT**

Eddie walks in through the entrance to the tent. The tent is dimly lit and empty, but for one person standing near the center. It was Jason - standing over the same cot where the unresponsive soldier had died. ‘That’s where I left him to die,’ Eddie thought. He slowly starts walking toward Jason, not looking at Jason, but focusing on the cot, stained with blood. He stops when he gets within arms length of Jason. 

JASON  
His name was David Burke. 

Eddie looks up at Jason, who is still looking down at the cot while speaking to Eddie. Eddie was once again taken off-guard by Jason. This was not what Eddie was expected. Eddie took a deep breath.

JASON  
He was 24 years old. Grew up in Pennsylvania. Flight 93 crashed near his hometown on 9/11. He was a firefighter - followed in his father’s footsteps. 

Eddie could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again. He looked up at Jason, almost in a thankful way. Jason was still looking down at the blood stained cot.

JASON  
I guess he felt a sense of duty. He had a boyfriend of five years - a marine. Still stateside - in Washington, I think. 

Jason looked up at Eddie. Their eyes met. Eddie didn’t know what to say or how to feel. A tear ran down his cheek, but he maintained his composure. Jason turned to Eddie and placed a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. 

JASON  
He wasn’t a medic, but when their convoy was hit, he remembered his training as a first responder. He applied two tourniquets and laid one of his fellow brothers in recover position to keep the blood out of his airway. He saved three lives.

EDDIE  
Sounds like an amazing guy. A hero.

JASON  
He IS a hero. He’ll probably have to hang up his fire helmet when he gets back, but something tells me he will find a way to keep helping others. 

Eddie is confused. He opens his mouth to say something and another tear falls. But he can’t speak.

JASON  
He lived because you helped me pack his wounds and stabilize him before the Evac arrived.

EDDIE  
What?

JASON  
Because of YOU, because you made an impossible choice to save his life, he will see his partner again. He will probably go on to save other people somehow.

Eddie understood the lesson now. 

JASON  
I wanted you to know who he was. So that you remember the one you saved. You will lose more patients. more soldiers. more brothers and sisters. If you carry them all with you, the weight will become impossible to carry. 

Eddie looked down at the bloody cot again and pointed to it.

EDDIE  
What about him? If I don’t remember him, who will? 

JASON  
Others. Others will carry that weight. He will not be forgotten, Eddie. There was nothing you could have done to save him. There is no surgeon here. He went into cardiac arrest because he lost almost half of his blood supply before he got here. There is nothing any of us could have done. But because you made the hard choice...

Eddie turned away from Jason. Jason grabbed him and turned him back.

JASON  
The NECESSARY choice, a young soldier...a firefighter is returning home to his marine. 

EDDIE  
I understand. 

JASON  
Yes. They BOTH would have died had you not helped me.

Eddie stood there silent. Embarrassed. Not sure what to feel. Feeling weak because of his tears. Because a fellow soldier, his supervisor, had seen him cry. 

JASON  
Eddie. Don’t feel ashamed, man. The work we do here... we deal with life and death. It’s heavy. When you bottle it up, it will overcome you. 

Eddie continued to stand silent. Almost trembling. Trying not to show any emotion. Trying not to break. Jason reached out and grabbed Eddie’s shoulder with his hand. He moved his hand up to Eddie’s neck. Eddie noticed the warmth of Jason’s hand on his neck. He could feel every inch of Jason’s hand against his skin. He could see it in his mind. Jason’s warm palm against the side of his neck - his fingers wrapped around the back of Eddie’s neck - his thumb pointed up toward Eddie’s ear. Something stirred inside of Eddie. He wanted to pull away, but he wanted to lean into it and let it comfort him. He continued to stand, silent, not knowing what to do.

Eddie felt a light force. He felt Jason begin to pull Eddie close to him very slightly - as if Jason was checking to see if it was “okay” to do so. Eddie had never felt a feeling like this before. Normally another guy touching him would feel uncomfortable. ‘Guys aren’t supposed to touch each other,’ he thought. But he needed something. He was still trembling. About to crumble, and he knew it. And Jason knew it. Eddie didn’t resist the pull. He let go and gave in. 

Jason, no longer feeling any resistance, pulled Eddie close to him until their chests touched. Jason, with his right hand on Eddie’s neck, pulled his left arm under Eddie’s right arm and placed it on Eddie’s upper back. He used both arms to pull Eddie close to him. Jason used his right hand to place Eddie’s head on his shoulder. A hug. Once their chests were touching, and Jason used his arms once more to press them against each other and seal any distance between them... a spark shot through Eddie’s body. He completely caved.

Eddie went from resisting the contact initially to reaching his arms around Jason, also pulling him close, as if to physically beg Jason to please not let go of him. Eddie weeped silently. Jason could feel Eddie’s body shuddering occasionally. 

Jason stood. Holding Eddie in their embrace - letting Eddie cling to him as if he were about to slide off of a cliff if he were to let go. Eddie’s mind was short-circuiting. Emotional about the death of the soldier he lost. Emotional about the soldier he saved. Emotional about another person seeing him cry. Emotional about not understanding this physical bond that was happening. He could feel Jason’s chest expanding with every breath. He could feel Jason squeezing him tighter each time he sensed that Eddie was sinking. He could smell the cedar shaving cream that was once on Jason’s skin. The stubble of Jason’s face and chin resting against his own. It was not painful - it was comforting. Jason closed his eyes. Eddie felt the need to break the silence.

EDDIE  
How long do we do this?

Jason turned his head slightly and pointed his mouth toward Eddie’s ear as he responded with a whisper.

JASON  
As long as you need, buddy. You’re safe. 

((deep whoosh sound effect as the story flashes forward to present day))

**INT. SCENE - STAGING AREA - NIGHT**

Eddie spots Lena standing near a large whiteboard. Talking with police officers and holding a radio in her hand. 

EDDIE  
Bosko!

LENA  
Diaz. What are you doing here?

EDDIE  
What’s going on? Are my guys okay? Is the 118 inside.

LENA  
I know that two of them are inside now. There is either a hostage situation or something happened. We heard gunshots. The command team is over there deciding how to proceed. 

EDDIE  
Who’s inside?!

LENA  
I have the roster here.

Lena points up to the board. Eddie looks up under the heading RTF1 and sees the badge numbers listed. He recognizes two immediately. 

EDDIE  
415\. That’s Hen... and 677. Buck.

Lena looks at Eddie with a serious face.

LENA  
Don’t, Eddie. You can’t. We don’t know what is going on in there. You can get yourself killed or somebody else. You could lose your job!

EDDIE  
Somebody has to go in there! Where is the SWAT Team?! Why haven’t any officers gone in yet?!

LENA  
The SWAT time is regrouping after the bank robbery downtown. There is a jurisdictional matter between the FBI and police - they’re trying to work it out and decide what to do next. 

EDDIE  
I’m going in there, Bosko. With or without your help.

Lena sighs. 

LENA  
You’re a pain in my ass, Diaz. At least take a radio. 

EDDIE  
Thank you. I won’t forget this.

LENA  
I’m gonna have to add you to the roster. I won’t announce it, but I will put it on the board. We have to make sure everybody is accounted for. Including you.

EDDIE  
Okay. 

Eddie removes his bright yellow jacket and leaves it with Bosko. He turns and looks up at the building. There was no feeling of fear or doubt. The only outcome in his mind was that his friends were going to make it out alive. 

LENA  
You can’t go in the way they did. You’ll have to find another way in. That entrance is being covered by police. 

EDDIE  
What do you recommend?

LENA  
The rear of the building. It’s a lower level and under construction. Maybe there is a way in back there. The cops know about it but they are working on man power at the moment. It’s not secured.

EDDIE  
Got it. 

Eddie sneaks around the back of the building. And through a construction fence. He slides down a small embankment to the muddy parking lot below. He looks around the area and sees nothing signs of a threat and pushes forward to the back of the building covered in plastic wrap. He peered over the edge of the waist-height wall and saw what looked like a body face-down on the ground.

He moved closer and realized that it was a police officer. It was Dex. He quietly reached down and checked for a carotid pulse. He felt none. ‘Dead.’ Eddie thought to himself. He grabbed Dex’s flashlight and handgun from his duty belt. He checked the weapon quickly to make sure it was loaded and functional. While welding the gun in his right hand and flashlight in his left, he clicked the light on. He noticed a the blood and bullet holes around the area. He could see shell casings on the ground and knew immediately that assault rifles were involved. Unshaken and steady. Eddie moved forward and disappeared into the darkness into the underbelly of the building.

((deep whoosh sound effect as the story flashes backward to Afghanistan))

**INT. CRUMBLING BUILDING - VILLAGE IN AFGHANISTAN - DAY TIME**

Eddie is crouched down, leaning against the wall with his rifle in his hand. A cloud of dust is above him and outside of the building where the sun is shining brightly. Several other soldiers were in front of Eddie, clearing the rooms as they moved through, searching for two wounded soldiers who radioed for help. There had been a report of gunfire and injuries. 

Jason entered the room, crouched down and snuck over to Eddie’s spot along the wall. Their conversation was only a whisper.

EDDIE  
So what’s the plan?

JASON  
I think they’re still deciding. You and I will move with the team and provide care only when the coast is clear. Then we work on extrication.

EDDIE  
TCCC training. 

JASON  
Absolutely. You remember the basics. How to move through and clear the rooms with the team?

EDDIE  
Oh yeah. Our training was great. 

One of the soldiers ahead yelled back to the Eddie and Jason. “Aright guys. Looks like we’re secured for now. We’ll move out in five. Take a breather.

Jason slid down the wall and sat down. He grabbed his canteen and took a swig of water before passing it to Eddie. Eddie slid down and sat beside Jason and took a drink. 

JASON  
Ya, know. It’s been weeks, and I’ve never asked you. Who is back home waiting for you?

EDDIE  
My wife. Shannon. And... my son. He was just born. I haven’t even seen him yet.

JASON  
Damn, man. I’m sorry. At least you’ve got something great to hold on to. To look forward to. That’s important.

EDDIE  
What about you? Who’s waiting for you back home?

Jason shuffles a little bit and begins to fidget with his wrist. He tosses something to Eddie. Eddie reaches down into his lap and picks up the item, Jason’s watch. He was a khaki colored tactical style watch. A G-Shock. Eddie looked up at Jason and chuckled.

EDDIE  
What’s this?

JASON  
Look at the back of the watch case. 

Eddie holds the watch up to the small area of light peering in above them. As he tilts the watch against the light he can see a word carved into the aluminum. “Amanda.” 

EDDIE  
Amanda?

JASON  
Yeah. Mandy. High school sweet hearts. 

EDDIE  
Married?

JASON  
No. Someday though. 

EDDIE  
Did she give you the watch or something?

JASON  
No. I just... needed to feel close to her ya know? I don’t keep pictures around. Who carries pictures anymore when everything is on your phone?

Eddie nodded in understanding.

JASON  
Ever had that feeling like... you feel lost. And when your with a person, you feel... 

Eddie searched his feelings. He knew exactly what Jason meant. Because that’s how Eddie had come to feel about Jason.

EDDIE  
......home.

JASON  
Exactly. And it’s not likely that I will lose my watch. It’s always on my wrist. Near my pulse. Near the beat of my heart. The most special person in my world. That’s were I want her to be. So her name is always against my skin - my body - my heartbeat. 

EDDIE  
Wow, man. 

Eddie’s heart was aching. He was happy and joyed that Jason had somebody in his life so important. But he felt saddened. Because that person was not him. What mattered to Eddie more was that Jason was happy, not that he reciprocated the feeling toward Eddie. Eddie smiled.

EDDIE  
I’m happy for you, Jason. 

JASON  
Thanks, buddy. Maybe one day we’ll all get together and have dinner. I can meet your girl. And your son. You can meet Mandy.

EDDIE  
Brother.. now THAT is something to look forward too.

Eddie and Jason smile at each other. One of the soldiers yells back at them, “Alright guys, it’s time. Let’s move out! We think they are in the next building over!” Eddie tosses the watch back to Jason. The two then get up and begin to get set to move out to the other building. 

Just as the two begin to move toward the edge of the building entrance, an explosion rips off a part of the wall near them and sends them both flying backward. Eddie lands on his back and is stunned. He tries to move but is disoriented. He can’t see because of a cloud of dust. He can’t hear because his ears are ringing. 

EDDIE  
Jason!

Eddie can’t hear anything - only ringing in his ears and muffled downs of rapid gunfire. He yells again.

EDDIE  
JASON!!!!!!

((screen fades to black))

\----------------------------------------------------------

End of Chapter 3: Part 1. 


End file.
